


An Auspicious Star

by nekojita



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alchemy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Elemental Magic, Hange does weird things with blood, M/M, Minor Character Death, More characters to be added later, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Shapeshifting, little faster than a slow burn, lots of interesting talents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-05
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2018-04-25 00:18:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 195,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4939441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekojita/pseuds/nekojita
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where people can wield magic, raise the dead and cast spells, Eren is on the run because of being a shifter, a rare ability coveted by many. What happens when he crosses paths with Levi, a necromancer of the infamous Ackerman line, also wanted for his magical talents?<br/>First part now complete, with added epilogue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. we three meet (again) in thunder, lighting or in rain...

**Author's Note:**

> All right, still working on Untraveled Roads and Cannonball, but it's that magical time of year again and so I basically wanted a story revolving around Levi and Eren (among others) and magic. What started as a small plotbunny is... gah, it's twisting on me. Hoping to keep this to a few chapters, at least the basic set-up, even if that means there will be a couple of one-offs in the future.

*******

The sensation of unfamiliar magic skittered across Levi’s skin, dragged invisible nails along his nerves until he wanted to lash out, to smash his fists against the people walking around him in a frustrated attempt to strike against an unknown enemy. *Somewhere* there were mages and worse, not too far away at that, and if there was one thing he’d learned over the years was that it never was a good thing, when other magic users were about – especially in this quantity. How had they tracked him down? He’d been so good since stopping by Karanese to visit Petra and had kept his talent in check the entire time since he only planned to be here a few days and then slip away. What had given him away?

For once thankful for his lack of stature, he did his best to blend into the crowd, his black overcoat hugged tight to his body as he headed to where he’d stashed his bike. The sense of magic continued to grow stronger, which caused him to grind his teeth together and hasten his pace. It made the roiling fire inside his bones burn ever hotter with the urge to call upon it, to twist the sparks all around him until they flowed into him, to summon the faint glows that hovered around the crowds, attached to certain people and buildings, to unearth long buried-

“Fuck!” So wrapped up in his own talent, he didn’t notice that someone had been fast approaching until the person smashed into him and knocked them both into the ground in a tangle of limbs. His first impression was someone taller, was wide, panicked blue eyes and golden skin, a mop of dark hair and an odd mish-mash of clothes. Levi prepared for an attack, for magic to wrap around him in order to subdue, for hands and feet to strike at sensitive areas to incapacitate and so readied for his own offense… and then found himself frozen.

Yes, there was magic here, something so… so *foreign*, so wild and unlike anything he’d ever felt before. Something so unlike what he’d just been running from moments before. As he stared in shock, the kid muttered beneath his breath and pushed back the unruly bangs that fell onto his face, into eyes that weren’t just blue but some unholy medley of blue-green and almost crystal-like in their clarity. Also, Levi could have sworn that the kid had been taller seconds before, but now he seemed shorter, smaller, the green jacket and tattered t-shirt beneath it hanging on his lean frame and denim shorts now reaching well past his knees.

For some reason the kid’s hands flew to his face as if to feel for damage and he frowned as he stared back at Levi. “What-what are you?”

That was what Levi wanted to know – his body tingled everywhere it came in contact with the brat, but that sense of ‘other’ magic was back and something told him that this kid might have something to do with it. “Later, now get your ass in gear,” he ordered as he snatched at a bony wrist and hauled up this latest mystery.

“Wait! What are- where are we going?” The kid attempted to resist for a moment, until Levi jerked him forward and nearly made him fall on his face. “Who are you?”

“Not those assholes back there. You wanna stick around for them to catch up?” Levi glanced over his shoulder and saw the angry expression on the brat’s face morph into one that was more panicked than pissed. “Yeah, thought so.”

“But I don’t know who you are!”

“Not them.” Really, how difficult of a concept was it?

“But… argh!” Finally the kid stopped trying to tug his arm free and gave in, now running alongside of Levi. “If this is a trick, I’m going to eat your liver!”

Huh, was the kid a were? He didn’t ‘feel’ like one. “Yeah, I’d like to see you try.” Levi gave him an appraising look, which for some reason made the brat grin, and were his teeth all of a sudden sharp? Was that a gleam of gold in his eyes?  The strange magic still flowed up Levi’s left arm from where his hand was latched onto the kid’s wrist and kept him from letting go; this was a mystery he needed to solve despite the obvious risk. “Now behave before I have you shitting out those teeth of yours.”

The warning earned him a snarl and a furious look, but the brat shut up after that and concentrated on running. Oh yes, Levi wanted to know what he’d stumbled upon even if it had ruined his visit with Petra.

*******

Wary of the whole situation, Eren eyed the small cottage they’d spent the last few hours riding to at a breakneck speed, hours that had been uncomfortable as hell with the way they’d taken just about every back road imaginable with all the bumps and dirt and ruts that went along with the lack of decent paving. One thing he had to say about his mysterious ‘savior’, the guy was serious about losing those assholes who’d been after Eren, now to see if Eren had just gotten himself into an even bigger mess by going along with the uncommunicative grouch. He fought the urge to touch his face and reassure himself that he hadn’t changed, that nothing was altered other than his height; it was rare that his talent kicked in and so little was different, that-

“Oi, get away from the door,” the stranger ordered as he shrugged out of his dust-covered coat while kicking off his boots, his black hair plastered to his forehead from the sweat of the long ride.

Annoyed a little at being bossed around like that and by someone he didn’t even know, Eren none-the-less obeyed even as he questioned the command. “Why? And what is this place? Why are we staying by a cemetery?” At least they were on the outskirts of the woods, where he could feel life *thrumming* if he extended his senses.

Some of the residual pissiness on the man’s face faded into what appeared to be amusement as he jerked a hand through his bangs at Eren’s question. “Because it’s the best place for us in case I didn’t lose those bastards who were following you.”

“What makes you think they were following *me*?” Eren crossed his arms over his chest as he stared… up at the man, not used to the change in height just yet; why had his talent kicked in like this? Figured that the asshole wanted someone shorter than him….

There was an annoyed clicking sound as the man rubbed at the shaved part of his undercut and then grimaced as he looked at his palm when he pulled his hand away. “Funny, because I know I didn’t use my talent at all back there, and they didn’t come for me when I was at my friend’s house. It’s only when I was near you that trouble started, brat. You going to tell me what you are, yet?” When all Eren did was stand there and try to figure out if the man really didn’t know what he was, the stranger made a scoffing sound and set his folded coat over the back of a chair. “Fine then, I’ll show you mine so you’ll show me yours.”

“Wait, what?” Eren clutched at his now too-large jacket as he stared in confusion at the asshole, mind in turmoil at what he’d just heard. “What do you-“ Then he felt a flare of that unfamiliar magic, a burn of frisson along his skin and *inside* of him that made him shiver and moan. It felt… it felt familiar and yet not, made him feel so funny even as his own magic reacted to it.

He sensed something happening, could feel as… it wasn’t quite like something ‘coming alive’, more like something wakening up, was as if the earth – no, something in the earth. Something in the *cemetery*. “Fuck, you’re a necromancer!”

The stranger continued to concentrate for a few more seconds even as a slight, pleased smile formed on his thin lips. When he was done, he folded his arms over his chest and nodded once at Eren. “Yep. Name’s Levi. Now, what about you?”

Eren wondered if he had hit his head or something when he took that tumble earlier; he had heard of Levi, just muttered rumors and hastily told stories about an infamous necromancer who was supposed to be amongst the most powerful magic casters out there, and one of the few remaining necromancers alive. He supposed he had imagined some skeleton-like, imperious figure, someone… okay, so Levi had that ‘imperiousness’ going for him, and the pale skin. Ditto the black hair, though it was cut rather short, not in some long, gothic style. Nothing skeleton-like or gaunt with that body, though, as Eren well knew after being slammed into the ground by it; the asshole had to be pure muscle. But at least Eren could understand now why Levi had been running since necromancy was almost as rare a talent as, well, his own.

“I’m waiting,” Levi snapped, his fine brows drawn into a sharp ‘v’ as he began to glare, a decided chill to his grey eyes. “You think I take in risks like you every day?”

“I think you bury risks like me on a routine basis,” Eren muttered as he jerked a hand through his hair and tried to decide what to do. Yeah, Levi had helped him back there and put up wards that should keep him safe. But he wasn’t used to revealing himself like this, not when he knew how rare he was, not when he was here alone with such a powerful magic user. Maybe if Mikasa or Armin- Hearing Levi make that damn clicking sound again wrung a snarl out of him, and he noticed that the man gave him a pointed look as if to say ‘I’m running out of patience’.  Eren tugged on his hair in an attempt to clear his muddled thoughts, and it was the realization that he was, more or less, in his original form that convinced him to tell the truth.

“I’m a shifter, all right?”

At first Levi didn’t react, and then he sighed in obvious weariness. “They wouldn’t put that much effort into chasing after a were, even if you’re something rare like a snow leopard or a dragon. Plus, you don’t ‘feel’ like a were so stop lying and tell me what you really are, brat.”

Eren had the urge to punch something, preferably the moron standing in front of him, before he caught the warning gleam in those grey eyes. “I’m not a were! Shifter. *Shift~er* Gah! Why do I even bother!” He threw his hands up in the air as he began to stomp around. What was it about this asshole that had some part of Eren trusting him?

Levi remained still for a moment before he shook his head and stalked after Eren. “That can’t be true, there hasn’t been a true shifter in centuries.”

“Right, I’m just a figment of your imagination. Never mind me.” Eren focused as he whirled around, mindful of the small space of the cabin as he shifted into his default attack form; his magic churned inside of him and made his body feel as if composed of molten metal as it twisted about and grew, as his limbs lengthen and jaw protruded, as the fangs descended and claws sprouted. It was almost funny to see Levi’s eyes go wide and how he leapt back in a graceful motion, and then there was that sense of almost familiar magic wrapping around Eren, of gossamer ‘something’ enfolding around him to hold him back even as he stood still.

“The *fuck*!” The curse came out barely more than a whisper as Levi gaped at him, eyes glowing a pure silver and those gossamer clouds whirling around him. “No wonder those shitstains wanted you so bad.”

Eren held the shape for a few more seconds before he let it go, and grumbled when he realized that he was still short even after turning more or less normal; it wasn’t unusual for someone else to influence how he looked, but when it happened it was normal for it to be on a much bigger scale, for his appearance to reflect their inner desires. This was a first where someone only wanted him to be himself, only a little shorter.

“Yeah, well, I was helping someone out and forgot to be more careful about who was around at the time.” Mikasa was going to *kill* him when she caught up, he knew it. “Oh, I’m Eren,” he remembered as he held out his hand.

Levi reached for his hand and then stopped just short, his brows furrowing as he stared at it. “Hell no,” he drawled in disgust as he snatched at Eren’s jacket. “When’s the last time you showered?”

“Huh?” Eren glanced at his hand and noticed the grime around his fingernails. “Wait, what? I’ve been running for two days straight, what’s with you?”

“In other words, you’re *filthy*. I can’t believe I even let you on my bike.” Levi didn’t stop shoving at Eren until he ended up almost face-first on the floor of what appeared to be an immaculate bathroom, the white tiles sparkling in the light of the halogen bulbs. “Give me those clothes so I can burn them-“

“Hey!”

“-and scrub *everything*! I’ll lend you something to wear.” When Eren sat up to glare at the asshole for his presumptuousness, those gossamer ‘clouds’ gathered around Levi again. “No scrubbing, no food,” he insisted.

Considering how Eren’s stomach took to rumbling at the mention of food, that was playing dirty, no pun intended. “You’re an asshole,” he felt the need to point out as he shrugged off his jacket.

“An asshole who saved your ass, so shut up and take a bath. And if I see so much as a speck of dirt, I’m hosing you down myself.” Levi loomed above him with his hands held out for Eren’s dirty clothes while the spirits of the dead whirled around him.

Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to come along with this guy, Eren thought to himself as he handed over the jacket. Levi refused to budge until the ratty t-shirt, socks and even the shorts followed as well, then Eren huddled on the floor with his arms wrapped around his knees. “No! Nothing else until you get out of here!” Seriously? The asshole expected him to strip off his boxers, too?

“Scrub *everything*,” Levi repeated as he held onto the dirty clothes with the tips of his left forefinger and thumb as if scared they would contaminate him somehow. “And it’s not as if you have something I haven’t seen before,” he muttered as he turned to leave the bathroom.

“Out!” Eren shouted as he lunged forward to slam the door shut. Once he was alone in the room, he made sure the door was locked and took several deep breaths. Okay, so maybe there was something to Levi’s magic, something that made his own react to it and want to trust the man. The *asshole*. And if he’d been caught by those bastards back in the city, he doubted that all they’d be doing was yelling at him to take a shower and offering him clean clothes and some food. That the only way they would want him to change was to be a short shit, too. Speaking of that….

Getting up off the floor, he checked out the tub, which was also sparkling clean, and started the water running before he went over to the large mirror above the equally clean sink. Staring back at him was the visage that greeted him most of the time, unless he shifted to confuse people or to take on another form for some reason. Unless he allowed his talent to react to someone else’s desires. His hand reached out and almost touched the glass before he spun around, stripped off his boxers and climbed into the shower.

The hot water felt so good on his skin, and he had to admit that even he was disgusted to see the soap scum gather near the drain when he finally took to lathering up and scrubbing at his skin. There had been too much running the last two days, too much hiding; had his talent reacted to Levi because it somehow sensed another rare being and guessed that he’d be safe with him? What was Levi that he could look at Eren and want him to change so little?

Eren was in the middle of rinsing his hair clean when the sound of the door opening sent him in a near panic. Beginning to shift his form, all that happened was the sound of something soft hitting the floor and a rush of cold air. “Food will be ready in a few minutes,” Levi said, and then the door closed – without Levi stepping into the room. Eren wiped the water from his face to ensure that he was still alone and peaked past the shower curtain to see that there was a pile of clothes, a small bag and what appeared to be a soft, fluffy towel on the floor near the curtain, that the door was unlocked but shut once more – and his old boxers were gone.

He hurried to finish his shower and, feeling guilty over how clean the place had been, made sure to rinse down the tub when he was done. The towel was indeed nice and soft, and he spent longer than he should drying off so he could enjoy the feel of it against his skin. Once all dry, he checked out the clothes and found a pair of white cotton boxers with the tags still on them. They were a little too big, along with the worn pair of jeans, but they were clean and felt good after wearing the same clothes for too long. A soft, dark grey sweater completed the outfit, and there was some chagrin on his part over how these clothes would have been too small on him just a few hours ago. Yet his body seemed to refuse to shift back to those additional inches as long as he was with Levi.

“You trying to tell me something?” he asked his reflection as he stared at it for a few seconds before brushing his teeth with the new brush and paste that had been in the bag with some other toiletries that had been left with the clothes. Feeling fully clean for the first time since… well, since he’d made the mistake of helping out that kid about to become lunch for what he’d thought had been a simple pack of were, Eren made sure to rinse out the sink and then hang up his wet towel before he left the bathroom.

*******

Judging that the soup was hot enough, Levi turned off the heat and went to check the bread he had ‘baking’ in the toaster oven; it wasn’t anything gourmet, just what he could pull from his pantry since he’d been away for a few days and hadn’t been expecting any company, but it would do. It would have to do, since he had a feeling it wouldn’t be the best of ideas to go out shopping any time soon, but if there was one thing he believed in other than cleanliness and life being a total raging bitch, it was being prepared. The nice thing about soups and stews was that they had a great shelf life, along with anything that could be frozen and then defrosted, like the garlic bread.

A faint tingle of magic made him turn around to find Eren hovering in the doorway to the kitchen, those fascinating eyes of his wide and almost glassy as he stared at the pot on the stove. His chin-length hair was still damp and as tousled as if he just got out of bed, and it was a first for Levi to see anyone wear his clothes and have to roll up the sleeves and hems. For some reason it looked-

“Ah, dinner?”

Distracted from his thoughts by the question, Levi shook his head and motioned at the table. “Yeah, unless you’re going to stand there all night with that growling stomach of yours.” He watched as Eren scurried to sit down at one of the places set for them to eat. “Didn’t leave a mess behind, did you?”

“No!” Eren scowled at the empty bowl in front of him for a moment before he took a deep breath. “No, I didn’t. Thank you very much for the clothes and, uhm, everything.” He seemed to notice that Levi had changed from the dusty clothes early, those eyes trailing up and down before he looked away with a slight flush.

“Place might not look like much, but there’s two bedrooms and two bathrooms,” Levi explained as he set a thick pad on the table to protect it from the heat of the pot. “I washed off while you enjoyed your shower.”

“Do you often have guests?” Eren’s attention focused on the pot of soup, yet he waited for Levi to fetch the garlic bread and to sit down at the table as well; someone had taught the brat some manners.

“A friend visits now and then, which is why I have some spare stuff if you need any shit.” Hange was always forgetting something, and like hell would he let her use any of his. “Go on, dive in before you drool on my table and I have to disinfect it.”

That earned him another of the brat’s glares, but not for long since Eren was obviously too hungry to resist the temptation of food; his hands were shaking as he ladled some of the fish chowder into his bowl but he managed to avoid spilling any, and took several slices of the bread. Levi watched him nearly inhale half a bowl within seconds and clicked his tongue while he served himself. “So, people want you because you’re a shifter.”

The question slowed down Eren’s destruction of the food. “Yeah.” He wiped at his mouth and then stirred his spoon in the soup in front of him, dark brown strands falling onto his face. “Ever since….” He shrugged and let the spoon fall onto the rim of the bowl. “I’m not sure which side it’s from, my mom died when I was little and my dad… well, he disappeared. It’s been just me, my adopted sister and a good friend since then, and when I came into my magic….” He shrugged again when he looked up at Levi, those gem-like eyes shining with too many emotions and the flush back to his cheeks. “They did their best to look after me, but it’s not fair, all three of us running because of me. A couple of years ago I slipped away by myself and I’ve mostly been doing all right.”

Yeah, mostly – which is how Levi ended up with a shifter brat in his house and the most addictive magic possible crawling beneath his skin. “How old are you?” Eren appeared to be in his late teens, so he couldn’t be that old – but then again, he was a shifter, so he could appear however he wanted.

Eren’s brows drew together as he picked up the glass of water Levi had set out for their meal. “I’m twenty-nine! How old are you?”

“A hundred and forty-eight,” Levi said with some pride as he leaned back in his chair. “You’re still a baby.”

“’mm not a baby,” Eren mumbled around the rim of his glass. “I’m an adult, and I thought you were supposed to be older. ‘The great Levi, he’ll rip out your lungs and make sponges out of them’. ‘Don’t piss off the great Levi, he’ll use your bones for a broom and a dustpan’.” Something made him pause as he looked around the kitchen for a moment. “Huh, you are a bit of a clean freak, aren’t you? The whole ‘dustpan and broom’ thing makes sense now.”

Those fucking rumors – Levi was willing to bet his prized Miele vacuum cleaner that Hange was behind half of them. “No I’m not, not that there’s anything wrong with wanting things to be clean,” he insisted as he grabbed some more soup. “And the ‘great Levi’ just saved your ass and is giving you a place to stay, so show some respect.”

That earned him another glare for a few seconds before Eren sighed into his bowl of soup. “You don’t have to, you know. I really should get going. Just let me finish this and- ow!” The glare returned as Eren rubbed the spot on his arm where Levi had just jabbed him with a spoon.

Getting up to fetch a clean spoon, Levi pointed the dirty spoon in the brat’s direction before he tossed it in the sink. “And go where? How far do you think you’ll get before they find you again?”

“So what am I supposed to do?” Eren demanded as he shoved his chair away from the table. “You gonna let me stay here until they decide they don’t want a shifter to… to… they don’t want me anymore?”

Levi could well imagine why they wanted Eren, he’d heard enough stories in his youth about what shifters could do and why they were valuable. If he had any sense he should be turning Eren in for what was certain to be one hell of a reward, never mind the fact that there was also a reward out for him since necromancers were quite ‘popular’ as well. If he was smart, he could probably trade Eren in for a few decades of peace… but who needed peace, right? Being kept on his toes was good for him, and he wanted to find out why the brat’s magic affected him so much. “Why not? Got the spare bedroom and you don’t seem halfway near as crazy as Hange,” he said as he returned to the table with a clean spoon. “Now shut the fuck up and eat. The soup is getting cold.”

Eren stared at him in evident shock for several seconds, before scooting the chair back to the table and doing as he’d been told. The entire time during the rest of the now quiet meal, he kept sneaking glances at Levi between mouthfuls of soup and bread with a puzzled look on his face. Levi returned them with a bland expression, amused despite himself and intrigued at how Eren’s magic seemed to ‘settle’ against his own. Was it because as a shifter, Eren was tied more to the life cycle of things than him, a necromancer? Shouldn’t that repel him more than attract? Eren didn’t show any problems with his magic, even when he’d set the wards and called upon the ghosts. There was something going on here, and Levi wanted to figure it out. Worse come to worst, he’d ask for Hange’s help.

As soon as the meal was finished, Eren stood up to help him clear the table. “I’ll stay a few days,” he insisted as he carried the empty bowls to the sink. “After that… well, I really should move on, then.”

Levi didn’t say anything, he just clicked his tongue as he filled the sink with hot water to wash the dirty dishes. Something had brought him and Eren together – they’d have to wait and see if it would allow them to diverge paths just as easily as they’d merged.

*******

Eren checked the venison and mushroom stew before he decided it needed a little longer and went to bake some garlic bread. “Hey, do you have any wine?” He had to call out again since Levi was busy doing unmentionable things with the vacuum cleaner he adored way too much.

“What? Uh, yeah, should still have a few bottles left. Red, right?”

“I’m not picky.” It had been a while since Eren had enjoyed anything to drink, considering that he barely stayed in place anywhere safe enough to imbibe; it wasn’t a problem to buy any since all he had to do was shift a few additional years onto his appearance.

He added a few more seasonings to the frozen bread before he put it in the toaster oven and then went to set the table. Levi had a well-stocked larder considering that he was at least an hour from the nearest town, and Eren hadn’t minded taking over the cooking duties as a way of thanks for staying at the small cottage. He also hadn’t minded taking advantage of the woods out back and his shifting ability to do some hunting to enjoy some fresh meat instead of canned and frozen goods, while Levi seemed to relish the simple yet hearty meals that Eren had learned to make over the years for first his family and friends. Eren had wondered why the necromancer didn’t bother with hunting himself… until he’d seen the fastidious man grimace in disgust over the mess made when gutting and trimming up the animal.

The low hum of the vacuum cleaner turned off, which Eren took to mean that Levi was done with his impressive cleaning regime for the day and was now washing off before dinner. He finished setting the table and searched through the one cabinet for a pair of wine glasses, which he wiped clean before placing out, and gave the stew a final check. It was odd, how easily he’d settled into a routine here, how the tension of constantly being on the run had just… melted away, but he felt safe behind Levi’s wards. He felt ‘safe’ with Levi. There was no attempt to force him to change other than that initial shift which had robbed him of a few inches, there was no attempt to bind him with geas that would leave him obedient and lacking his own will, no attacks of any kind. Well, maybe not quite ‘no attacks’, as his poor head had taken a few smacks until he learned the proper way that Levi insisted on the place being dusted and to always remove his sneakers when he entered the cottage….

“Is it ready?” Levi entered the kitchen with two bottles of wine in his hands, and smelling of fresh water and the cedar soap he used. For some reason it made Eren want to go over to the man and take a deep breath, to see how Levi’s hair would feel while damp and slightly rumpled from having been rubbed with a towel. He had to duck his head as he headed to the stove to check on the stew, confused about where these feelings came from – was it because he was spending so much time alone with one person? He’d never felt this way with Armin or Mikasa when it was just the three of them. Was it Levi’s magic? Anymore it didn’t feel right unless that odd yet pleasing sense of ‘other’ was brushing against his own talent, to the point that he couldn’t go too far out in the woods before returning to the cottage.

“Ah, it looks about done. Why don’t you pour the wine?”

Levi grunted in agreement and went to fetch a corkscrew from one of the drawers. “This stuff should be fine, Hange brought it with her during one of her visits after drinking the place damn near dry the time before.”

This wasn’t the first time that Levi had mentioned ‘Hange’ to Eren before, and Eren had yet to figure out if his new friend liked the woman or not. She certainly sounded ‘interesting’. “As long as it’s more than a buck or two a bottle, it should be fine.” He moved the pot to the pad set out on the table even as he shook his head; Levi might have a vacuum cleaner that cost a fortune and a vast array of cleaning products, but almost no serving dishes, go figure.

“Who knows with that lunatic? Could be something she found being sold on the side of the road or raided from some millionaire’s wine cellar.” Levi clicked his tongue as he poured it into their glasses and waited for Eren to finish grabbing the rest of the meal before he sat down. Once the bread and a salad of foraged greens were set out, he nodded in what appeared to be approval. “You poison me, and I’ll make your bones into a chair.”

Eren rolled his eyes at the now familiar threat. “Yeah, yeah, as if I can find anything potent enough for a sour old man like you.”

“I’m not old, I’m in the prime of my life.” Levi gestured with his clean spoon in Eren’s direction. “You’re the baby here.”

It was such a pain dealing with the extended lifespans that came with wielding magic, and the egos that went along with them. “Please, as if anyone past their third century would give you the time of day,” Eren pointed out as he helped himself to some salad. “I think you’re trying to compensate for something – for a few things, actually.”

“Like you have any ground to stand on, *shorty*.”

Eren nearly choked on the wine he’d just tried upon hearing the insult, and opened his mouth to say… what? That he wasn’t normally this short? That he only was because of Levi? That his talent refused to let him regain his former height for some unknown reason? “Yeah, well, at least I can grow taller any time I want,” he mumbled before he shoved in a mouthful of stew.

“Yet you’re shuffling around here, dragging the hems of my pants along the floor,” Levi complained. “Going to ruin the damn things.”

“Just consider it a little extra dusting and you’ll be fine.” Eren rolled his eyes as he drank more wine. “How did you get through the day without having someone to bitch to without me being here? You unearth some poor dead soul just to have a victim or what?”

Levi sneered as he helped himself to some more stew. “At least a revenant wouldn’t have such a hard time remembering to take off their shoes, unlike a brain-dead little shit I could name.”

More wine, dealing with this asshole definitely called for more wine. “Look, I’m about to shift a pair of hooves or something and just forget about the damn sneakers so you shut up about them! I wipe my feet before coming in the house!”

“You can still track dirt and shit in, which is why you remove the fucking shoes!” Levi slapped his left hand down onto the table before grabbing the butter knife. “And if I see your filthy hooves on my clean floor, I’ll chop them off, just watch me!”

“You and what-“ Eren paused to think about the cemetery outside and left that threat unfinished. “Clean freak.”

“Idiot brat,” Levi shot back as he let go of the butter knife and picked up his wine glass instead.

“Zombie fetish freakazoid.”

Levi stared at him for a couple of seconds before gulping down the remainder of his wine before filling it up almost to the rim again. “Okay, you don’t really grasp how this is played, do you? It’s not just random words strung together.”

Eren reached for the wine bottle, his dinner forgotten. “Oh screw you, that made sense to me.”

“And that’s our problem right there, *your sense*.” A slight smirk hovered on Levi’s lips before it was hid by the rim of the wine glass.

Eren flipped him the finger before he enjoyed his own wine. “Why do I put up with you again?”

“I believe we were just talking about your fucked up sense.” Levi propped his right elbow up on the table and gazed at Eren through heavy eyelids.

“And I don’t think there’s enough wine for this.” Eren sighed as he held his glass clutched to his chest. “Tell me again why I’m not letting a bunch of pricks cut me apart inbetween whoring me out to the highest bidder?”

“Hmm, because that’s not half as fun as making me breakfast.” Levi set his wine aside so he could stir at his stew. “You’re not a half-bad cook even if you’ve shit for brains.”

Seriously, not enough wine, Eren repeated to himself as he finished off the bottle. “Yep, so much better than vivisection.” He had just set the bottle down when a crust of bread smacked into his forehead. “Wha?”

“If you’re that abused and feel like you’re missing out, I can break out the butcher knives and carve out your spleen,” Levi offered.

Eren held the piece of bread in his hand for a moment as he realized that Levi, clean freak extraordinaire had just thrown *food* at him. “You’re nuts.”

“Hardly,” Levi scoffed. “Just being a good host. You’re the one whining abou-“ His grey eyes went wide when the bread sailed back across the table to hit him in the chest.

Eren figured that he had about three seconds to make his getaway, which actually turned into about two, which was long enough for him to get out of the chair before there was the sound of Levi’s scraping across the hard wood floor as the necromancer leapt after him. About to shift into a faster form, Eren felt a stronger than normal tingle of that ‘other’ magic and cursed as something cold and mostly insubstantial wrapped around his legs moments before something much more substantial slammed into him.

“You shitty little brat,” Levi growled out as he dug his knee into Eren’s back for a second before it shifted away. “Maybe I should pry into your head to see what happened to your brains.”

Laughing too much to breathe properly, Eren rolled onto his side as he attempted to shake his head. Tears filled his eyes as he pushed at Levi, but the man was too heavy to budge. “Yu-yur… face….”

“Very funny.” Levi spread his hand over Eren’s face as if to shove him down to the floor, except for some reason his fingers slid across Eren’s flushed skin and into his hair, pushed the strands aside as he leaned in closer. Eren once more had problems breathing, except now there was a tightness in his chest as some weird emotion seized his lungs and made his heart race, made him freeze and unable to look away from Levi. They grew closer and closer together, the sense of Levi’s magic weighing heavy upon him, and just when it seemed that their lips would brush together, Levi jerked away as if scalded.

“Dishes. We need to do the dishes.” The words sounded rushed as he all but jumped to his feet and raced back to the kitchen, while Eren remained on the floor for about another minute. His hands trembled when he used them to push up as the realization sunk in that the overwhelming emotion filling him just then was a bone-aching want, and that it was for *Levi* of all people.

*Levi*.

“Oi! Get your ass in here and help with these dishes!”

Eren scrubbed at his face with the heel of his left hand and wondered what he’d gotten himself into when he’d allowed himself to be rescued by the grumpy, neat-freak necromancer.

*******

Pretending to read a book while he sipped at his cup of just brewed Darjeeling tea, Levi first noticed how Eren was finally doing a decent job of dusting and then how he would pause every minute or so and glance at the front door. It wasn’t so much a nervous look as it was one full of contemplation, as if the brat was trying to work up the nerve to walk out of it and never come back. Levi had noticed such glances growing in frequency since last night and set down his cup of tea a with a bit more force than proper, which caused the hot beverage to swish inside the porcelain bowl and brush against his fingertips.

Wincing inwardly both from the heat and the memory of how he’d almost lost control last night, he figured that he wasn’t going to get much further through his book when his mind was such a mess – and all thanks to a certain shifter. Dammit, why did it matter to him if Eren went running out the door like he obviously itched to do at the first opportune moment? Why did the sight of that one laughing face, with those gorgeous eyes and sun-kissed skin, turn him on so much when he didn’t even know if it was Eren’s real face? Why did Eren’s magic feel so good? And why the hell was Levi in such a bad mood right now? Something was bothering him, was like an itch he couldn’t scratch.

“Uhm, is there anything in particular you want for lunch?”

He blinked twice and realized that Eren had asked him a question. “Anything you want to make,” he told the brat once the words sunk in. After living by himself for so long, it was a treat to have someone else – someone who wasn’t insane – make the food, and Levi had a pretty big tolerance to most everything.

“Okay. Maybe I’ll make some sandwiches.” Eren gathered up the dusting supplies and left Levi alone in the small ‘living room’, so Levi decided to give reading another attempt since it now seemed unlikely that Eren was going to try to leave any time soon. He had just picked up his cup of tea when he felt a spike of… of something ‘off’. Of something that once more made him annoyed.

Setting the tea aside, he got up from his chair and stood in the middle of the small room with his eyes closed so he could concentrate on his talent. Not too far away was Eren, his talent burning bright and strong to Levi’s magical senses, and all around were the dead, were the buried and the souls who refused to rest; all it would take was a simple command on his part and they would come to him, the immaterial and the revenants, the earth and the ether giving up those in their care to serve as his weapons.

There was the house, which was warded, and there was the cemetery which was marked as well. And it was in the cemetery that he found… fuck, it was cloaked, and a damn clever cloak at that, but he’d been here for years, for decades, had laid his wards down time after time, had gotten to know the dead buried into the ground even if he didn’t always disturb their rest. Those fuckers thought they could sneak up on him? On the ‘great’ Levi, as Eren called him?

“Brat? We got company!” he shouted even as he opened his eyes and let his power flow outward.

At first there was nothing, and then Eren burst into the room, his eyes golden and the white and red apron he wore over the borrowed jeans and pale green sweater fluttering from his haste. “Really? They found us?” Even as he spoke he was beginning to change, his fingers elongating as they formed into wicked looking claws and his jaw jutting outward.

“Yeah, a bunch of mages at the least from what I can tell, probably hiding some others.”

Eren came to a stop in front of Levi and bowed his head, his shaggy hair falling onto his face. “I’m sorry.”

Levi scoffed as he shoved Eren toward the door. “Fuck that shit – they’ve been after me longer than you’ve been spunk in your dad’s balls so don’t even go there. Now get ready to kick some ass. You let them win and I’ll make you regret that you were ever born.”

He caught a flash of what looked to be way too many teeth – Eren’s face had shifted from ‘fuck yeah I’m so damn cute’ to ‘fuck yeah I can tear out your throat’ that appeared to be all sharp angles and half fang-filled mouth. Creepy. As. Fuck. Levi refused to be distracted by it, along with the fact that even while looking like some muscle-bound eating machine at the moment, Eren was still wearing the damn apron as he damn near tore the front door off its hinges while he went out it.

Time to focus, Ackerman, and do what Ackermans do so well. Huffing a little at the thought, Levi sent out a command as he followed his hot-headed roommate through the door, a command that caused the cemetery to erupt into chaos. Really, what had those dumb fucks thought, to take on a necromancer in his own home on a fucking *cemetery*.

Oh, they had tried to ward him out since he felt some resistance, but again, he was *Levi* *Ackerman*. The spells shattered beneath his own magic, and it didn’t help that Eren, now at least three feet taller than he’d been back in cottage and not wearing much more than the apron, had ripped apart what appeared to be the vanguard of the mages that were sent to collect him. It looked as if a few of them had been trying to set up some sort of circle so they could work a stronger casting, probably to take down the house wards and entrap both Levi and Eren, but it had been disrupted before being completed. Now they had an enraged shifter, one surrounded by plenty of life-force, and a necromancer with more than enough revenants and souls at his beck and call, to deal with before they could regroup and cast any major magic.

Levi thought he recognized one or two of the mages before the revenants tore them apart, and the were had the markings of the Trost pack on their left hind legs; whoever was after Eren wasn’t just some common magic users but able to hire some of the strongest packs and most expensive casters out there. Such a shame all that money was doing was adding more bodies to an already full cemetery.

He used his talent to disrupt the life-force of a shitty mage who thought to be clever by trying some sort of spell against him that made his insides feel like shattered glass, then had a revenant remove the asshole’s spine while a spirit distracted her by wrapping around her face; the burst of energy from the mage’s life being cut short provided enough to heal any damage from the aborted spell. Wrapping his magic closer around him to protect against future damage like that, Levi surveyed the ‘battlefield’ to find that most of the attackers were now dead, and that Eren was taking out the last of the were. The shifter seemed almost mindless in his ferocity, in his determination to destroy the enemy.

Chasing down the remaining were, Eren roared in what sounded to be anger and satisfaction as his claws dug into the wolf/human hybrid and dragged the were toward him so he could tear it apart. Levi grimaced as he felt the were die, one last sense of foreign magic fading away until all that was left was him and Eren.

“You’re a fucking mess,” he called out as he approached, only to go still when Eren spun around to face him, still a hulking… well, still in that hulking form with glowing golden eyes and a faceful of fangs. Eren let out a warning growl and just as Levi prepared to have some spirits surround him, Eren took a halting step toward him as his body flowed and shifted into his ‘proper’ form.

“Levi?” Eren appeared dazed, covered in blood, gore and a tattered apron.

“Yeah.” Ignoring the mess, Levi reached out to tuck back the matted bangs that clung to Eren’s forehead. “You’re such a fucking mess,” he repeated then clicked his tongue.

Eren tilted his face into the caress. “Ev-everything all right?”

No, they had a bunch of dead bodies and no clue how long until more asshole mages would arrive, and Levi had just lost his home of the last seven decades. “We won, so it could be a lot worse,” was what he said instead as he allowed his forehead to rest against Eren’s. For some reason the brat felt almost feverish – was it a result of his shifting? The fighting? “That and your ass is hanging out,” he added as he smiled. “So yeah, it’s all good.”

Eren was still for a few seconds, and when he did pull away, the look he gave Levi was incredulous at first. Then he glanced down and seemed to realize that the clothes he’d been wearing must have torn when he’d shifted into a much larger form. “Fuck….”

“Not now, we have to get our asses in gear and leave.” Levi reached around to smack Eren on a rather nice ass. “Five minutes to wash off and then we’re gone,” he shouted over Eren’s yelp. He only gave the brat that long because blood and guts were a bitch to wash off.

“Dammit!” Eren glared as his hands flew to cover his ass. “You- that’s… gah!” He went to stomp toward the cottage, and then seemed to realize that put him in front of a leering Levi so he then slowed down to walk beside him. “Such an asshole.”

“So you’ve said.” As they walked, Levi used his talent to have the earth bury all of the dead except for a few choice bits; after he washed off and grabbed everything ‘essential’, he would have to force a few spirits onward rather than risk their enemies having a necromancer of their own and being able to question the recent dead. Fuck, but he was going to be tired later… he could rest once they got to Hange’s.

Busy planning what needed to be done to get away safely, he was surprised when Eren touched his left arm once they reached the cottage. “Look… thanks,” the brat said with a blush to his cheeks and his eyes downcast. “I’m… it was really nice here.”

Levi gave him another swat on the ass. “Five minutes,” he repeated. When it looked as if Eren was going to complain, he clicked his tongue. “It’s just a building,” he insisted. “Live long enough and you’ll realize that.”

Eren appeared willing to argue, but after a moment’s pause he nodded and headed toward the spare bathroom, this time forgetting to cover his ass. Somehow, the view damn near made up for the fact that Levi was losing his home and having to crash at Hange’s for the foreseeable future.

*******

Busy working on a problematic spell that refused to work the way she knew it could, Hange stared in confusion when she heard a heavy knock upon her front door. When the noise repeated itself, this time louder and more impatient than before, she hastened from her desk and nearly tripped over her feet; the wards hadn’t given her any warning, so whoever was trying to batter through her door was either a friend or damn powerful. That meant an unplanned visit or a chance to try out the new spell where she’d combined ebola with the black plague, so fun all around. Well, except for having to clean up the carpet….

Throwing open the door, she beamed with excitement to find Levi glowering on the other side. “Levi! I thought you weren’t going to visit for at least another month!” She blinked in surprise to find someone else huddled beside him, someone whom hadn’t set off her wards, either. That meant Levi must have some rather strong protective magic wrapped around the young man.

“Yeah, well, even though I need more time to recover from the last visit here, it’s a bit of an emergency.” Despite the scowl on his face, she picked up a hint of apology in his deep voice as he rushed inside. “There was a touch of trouble at my house.” He was dressed for the long ride from his house in the autumn weather, and had what looked to be a full travel bag slung over his shoulder. Following at his heels was the youngster, who appeared in his late teens and about an inch shorter than Levi, in what had to be hand-me-downs; Hange recognized the leather jacket that was a bit too big and the scuffed boots that the poor kid was wearing, and noted that he had a backpack as well.

Motioning for them to set down the bags and give her their jackets, she smiled as they were handed over. “You know you’re welcome here all the time. I’m Hange, by the by,” she told the kid as he glanced around the cluttered living room with the prettiest eyes she’d ever seen; oh, she had to check out his genetic make-up to find out what bloodline produced such a unique blend of blue-green eyes offset with golden skin and dark brown hair. There had to be at least one or two recessive traits there and-

“Uhm, I’m Eren.” He ducked his head and shuffled a little closer to Levi once shed of the outwear, and yep, definitely wearing Levi’s clothes. Oooh, there was a story here, yes there was. It was difficult to sense the kid’s magic with Levi’s covering him so much, but the fact that he didn’t share his full name clued Hange in that he wasn’t a ‘normal’.

“Nice to meet you. Can I get you guys something? I’ll put on the water for Levi but maybe Eren would like some coffee? Or would soda be better? And don’t mind the mess, obviously I wasn’t expecting anyone but the spare bedroom is fine.” She waved her left hand about and was about to head to the kitchen when Levi clicked his tongue as he reached out to catch hold of her arm.

Oh yes, someone absolutely looked a bit guilty. “Put the tea on, but I’ve something to tell you.” He jerked his right hand through his bangs as they followed her into the kitchen, which she realized was just as much of a mess as the other room; Levi’s left eye twitched at the sight yet he didn’t comment on it, which let her know that things were really, *really* bad. “You might not want us to stay long.”

“What? Of course you can stay here, you’re my buddy! We always have such – well, I always have such fun during your visits!” Plus there was no way he was leaving until she found out why he was here with a cute kid who was wearing his clothes and bearing his magic in such a way that all but screamed ‘mine!’. *Levi*. A guy who the majority of the betting pool between their friends had down as ‘asexual’ for the past nine decades. Hange smelled a nice big fat pot coming her way, yes she did.

An adorable flush spread over Eren’s face as he shuffled over to the sink, and she watched in amazement as he hunched over the stack of dirty dishes and began to wash them. When she glanced back at Levi, he shook his head and motioned for her to leave the kid be and to sit down. “A few days ago I was in Karanese to visit Petra, which is where I met Eren – he was running from some mages so I helped him out and took him home.” When Hange squeaked at the thought of *Levi* helping out some random stranger, he glared at her in an obvious command to keep quiet. “I laid some misdirection spells but apparently, not enough because they showed up today to get their hands on the brat.” His expression turned grim as he reached into the right back pocket of his jeans for a sealed baggie. “Needless to say, those particular people won’t be bothering us again, and I spent damn near the entire ride here casting spells to cover our tracks. If you give us the night to catch some rest and figure out where to go next, I’d appreciate it.”

She scoffed as she accepted the baggie, which was filled with some choice tiny squishy bits of anatomy. “Please, if you tell me you covered your tracks then I trust you and you can stay here for however long it takes.” Levi looked ready to collapse on his feet, with the dark circles beneath his eyes even more pronounced than normal. “What... anything left at your house they can use to zero in on you or me? Just asking in case I need to adjust the wards.”

Eren spoke up from the sink. “He burned it down before we left.” The poor kid sounded miserable, probably blaming himself for Levi losing his home. While it was true that Levi would have been safer without taking in someone also on the run, Hange knew that her friend wouldn’t hold the kid responsible for the loss – no, he’d take it out on the bastards hunting them down.

Still. “I’m so sorry,” she told her friend, since she knew how much he’d loved his place of solitude, how special it was to have land that had soaked up your magic for so long.

He shrugged off the condolence, much as she’d expected. “It was just a place. Main thing was to keep those assholes from latching onto anything they could use to find or use against us, which is what we did.” He seemed to be saying that more for Eren’s sake than hers. “If we’re good, then I’m going to crash. Put your freaky magic to use to figure out who’s after us, keep your hands off of Eren, and we’ll talk more in the morning.” He went over to the sink to give Eren a slight tap to the back of the head. “Don’t stay up all night cleaning this pigsty, you’ll never get it all done.”

Eren paused in the washing to glare up at Levi before rolling his eyes. “Go sleep before you fall down. I’m not dragging your heavy ass to bed, then, old man.”

“Least my ass is covered,” Levi taunted for some reason, which caused Eren to blush. Hange was fascinated by the interaction; it was clear that Levi wasn’t watching over Eren on pure sufferance alone. Also, Eren was one of the few people who seemed to get Levi’s ‘abrasive’ personality, and didn’t appear put off by the fact that he was a necromancer. Interesting.

She waved to Levi as he almost stumbled out of the kitchen, definitely running on the last dregs of his energy, and got up from the kitchen table. “You don’t have to wash all of the dishes, you know,” she told Eren.

“It’s okay, it gives me something to do.” His smile just then was a shy, uncertain thing. “And I know how much the mess upsets Levi.” He paused to stare into the sink for a moment. “Besides, they’re almost done.”

“Well, thank you. Do you want some tea? How about something to eat?” When he nodded, she took that as an answer to both questions and went over to rummage through the fridge. “Uhm… yeah, maybe it’s time to throw out this takeaway,” she decided after she took a good whiff of it and her eyes began to water. That didn’t leave too much more in there, other than a few jars of condiments, a loaf of bread, some tortillas and some expired milk. Oh, and cheese. There was always some cheese, and it was only a little moldy. Giving up on the fridge, she opened the cabinets and… didn’t find too much more. “Guess I should go shopping?”

Drying his hands on some paper towels since the dish towel was a little… okay, add laundry to the ‘to do list’, Eren came over beside her and stood on his toes to look at the shelves. “Is that canned chicken any good?”

“Let’s see.” Hange laughed as she checked the dates. “Yes! I saw some tortillas and cheese in the fridge, too.”

Eren went over to pull them out, along with the jar of chilies and butter. “I can make some quesadillas for us if you don’t mind.”

“What, you cook and clean? No wonder Levi brought you along!” Hange grinned as she searched for a large enough pan so Eren could put to use his skills. At least it was mostly clean….

It was so adorable, the way that golden skin would show off a hint of pink and Eren would duck his head. “Ah, thanks, I think.” He heated up the stove while Hange filled up the tea kettle. “He… Levi… said a couple of things about you, but he never mentioned what you do.” Eren shot a quick look over at the bag of bloody bits of flesh on the table.

Hange hummed a little as she helped Eren by opening the cans of chicken. “Me? Well, not many people can do what I do, which Levi would say is a good thing. I’m what’s called a blood witch.” When Eren stared at her in confusion, she laughed. “Along with casting spells, I can read a person’s blood down to a cellular level, know their genetic background, their ancestors, their bloodline and talent if they have any, the diseases in their genes and turn it against them or even inflict new ones on them.” Her smile took on a sharp edge. “All I need is a bit of blood and I can fuck you up, big time. Or come across a disease and use it as a weapon.”

Eren stared at her for a few seconds, the cheese he’d been chopping up forgotten, and shuddered. “That’s… really impressive.”

She laughed again as she set an opened can aside and leaned over to ruffle his hair. “You only have to worry if you hurt any of my friends! So we’re good, right!” She waited for him to nod before continuing. “So what about you, hmm? I can’t tell since Levi has you so wrapped up in protective spells.”

He appeared surprised to hear about that, his left hand lifting to press against his chest for a moment as if to ‘feel’ for the magic, and then he stared down at the cheese he was slicing. “Well… I’m a shifter.” He spoke quietly, as if uncertain he should say anything.

Hange had wondered if Eren was another necromancer like Levi, if her friend had found an apprentice, and so thought that perhaps she had misheard Eren at first. When he continued to avoid her eyes, she realized that what she’d heard had been correct. “A shifter? Really?” She lunged forward to wrap her arms around him. “You’re a shifter! Amazing, I never thought I’d meet one! You have to let me check your blood, I bet I could find such incredible things in your genes!”

There was an aborted motion with the knife as he jerked about at being grabbed and he was stiff in her embrace at first, then he relaxed as if he realized that she wasn’t hurting him. “Uhm, okay, I think.” He patted her arms as if to have her let go. “If Levi says it’s all right.”

“Oh, it’ll be fine.” Hange would guilt-trip the grump into going along with it if she had to, this was too rare of a find! It also made sense as to why someone would risk fighting Levi on his own ground.

So, cute, cooked, cleaned and was a shifter. Only Levi would end up stumbling across someone like Eren, she thought to herself as she let go and resumed opening cans. The anti-social grump better realize what Fate had dumped into his lap or else she was going to risk a heart to heart chat with her friend, despite the pain for all involved.

*******

Warm. Levi was warm, and there was something tickling his chin. He was warm, being tickled, and there was something heavy on top of him. Warm, being tickled, covered in something heavy, and fuck, did he have a bad case of morning wood. Still feeling a bit tired, he went to rub at his eyes and….

Someone was lying on him.

Summoning his magic to him, it took a moment for his muddled brain to realize that wrapped ‘around’ him was the familiar sense of both his own magic and Eren’s, that it was damn near soaked into him by the close contact. Biting back on a groan, he opened his eyes and gazed downward to find a certain shifter sprawled out on half on his chest, head tucked beneath his chin and arm thrown out to touch the other side of the bed.

Eren was a cuddler.

Fuck. Hange had probably told the brat to share the bedroom since there was only one spare and the bed a queen, and Levi had been too tired to notice when Eren had climbed in. That and the brat was wrapped up in all those protective spells, just in case those assholes had some way to track him. It still didn’t excuse why Levi had allowed *this* to happen, or why his body seemed to think even more contact would be great. Flashes of Eren’s pert ass flashed through Levi’s mind as he managed to bend his left arm enough to brush his halfway numb fingers through the soft, mussed brown locks which brushed against his chin.

No, not going there. Not thinking about rolling Eren onto his back and- *no*. Not even if part of the reason those assholes were after Eren was that shifters were supposed to be incredible – Levi smacked his right hand into his forehead as a distraction.

He needed to get out of here before his hormones and his fucked up mind made him do something he regretted. So what if Eren was attractive as all hell? Damn brat had probably shifted into whatever Levi liked best as a defense mechanism, and in reality was built like some club bouncer and twice as ugly. No, the only thing he could trust was that the brat needed help and was desperate. Figure out a way to get him somewhere else and….

Levi let out a slow breath and began to ease out beneath Eren, who mumbled a little at the disturbance yet remained asleep. Once Levi was free, Eren clutched at the pillow as if it was to take Levi’s place, which allowed him to burrow through his bag to find a clean pair of loose jeans and a pullover to wear while he went out to see if Hange was still awake; a glance at the clock told him it was three a.m., so it wasn’t unheard of for his friend to be up working on some project.

He scratched at the stubble along his jaw as he left the room, and found the lights still on in the living room but no sign of any insane researcher. That left the kitchen, where Hange was bent over her laptop while a pot of coffee brewed. “You going to sleep at all?”

“Sleep is for the weak, those of us strong of mind have this wonderful thing called ‘caffeine’.” She looked up and blinked at him, her eyes a bit red and squinty behind the lenses of her glasses. “You look a bit better now, only a touch dead instead of halfway.”

“Thanks.” He went to refill the teakettle with fresh water and checked the fridge, which he was surprised to find was filled with what looked to be new stuff. “You went shopping?”

“Yes.” Hange clicked the keys a few times and then pushed away from the table. “There’s some leftover quesadillas which Eren made for you.” She reached for a can of energy drink that was on the table. “I ran out for enough food to last us for a few days and I picked up what should be a couple of sweatshirts and a pair of sweatpants that might fit him.” She gestured to a bag from the local superstore which rested in one of the spare chairs. “Didn’t want to look too suspicious so they’re stuff I’d buy for myself, but… yeah, hopefully he won’t mind. I can order stuff online in a day or two.”

“Considering he showed up with only the filthy shit on his back, it’s fine.” Levi found the leftovers and put them in the toaster oven before he went to check out the new clothes; Hange strongly believed in what could be called a ‘unisex’ style so the sweatshirts were plain and in neutral colors, if a bit big for Eren, while the pants were black and a size ‘small’. “What about my present?”

Done with her drink, Hange got up to pour herself a huge mug of coffee; Levi noticed that her brown hair had been pulled back into a messy bun and she must have changed out of the wrinkled clothes she’d been wearing earlier to run the errand. “You always bring me the good stuff, I have to say that.” Full mug in hand, she leaned back against the counter, long legs crossed in front of her and a serious look on her face. “Every one of the bodies was recognized as a member of the Reiss organization or the Trost pack, you do know that, right?” She gave him a loaded look while she tapped a finger against the mug.

“Dammit, I knew I recognized a few of those bastards.” He rubbed his left hand along the undercut part of his hair and sighed. “Eren tell you what he is?”

“Yep, after I explained what I can do.” She paused to take a sip of coffee. “I asked for some blood, but he said only if you agreed.” Her brown eyes lit up with something akin to humor at that. “He trusts you, he does.”

“I fucking saved his ass, he better trust me,” Levi spat out as he checked his late night snack.

“Hmm, to the point of sacrificing your home.” When Levi gave her a nasty glare at that, Hange smiled over the rim of her mug. “Oh ho, he worried about cleaning up the place so you wouldn’t be freaked about the mess, and that there was enough food so you’d have something to eat when you woke up. I even had to practically shove him into the bed when he was falling asleep standing up because he didn’t want to ‘bother’ you.”

Somehow he knew he had Hange to thank for that situation. “I know what it’s like to be hunted down. And I know what they’ll do to him if they find him.” Hmm, the food smelled good. Giving it a moment to cool off, he fixed a teapot that had been set out on the counter and filled it with the now boiling water. “Tell me you’d wish it on someone like Eren.”

The smile melted off of Hange’s face and her expression became contemplative. “Yeah, you’ve a point there. Given a shifter’s enhanced healing ability, it would be a living hell, being chopped up for various spells a being so closely tied to the earth’s ‘life force’ would boost. Not to mention once you could get some geas to sink in, you would have the perfect slave, the ultimate assassin and whore because of their emphatic and shifting talents.”

He didn’t need a reminder about that ‘ultimate whore’ fact right now. “You think that’s why Reiss is throwing the big guns after him?”

She shrugged as she stared into her mug. “Maybe. The fact that Eren’s the first shifter I’ve heard about in my lifetime means he’s rare as hell, which might make that organization determined to be the one to ‘own’ him. Perhaps it was too much for them to resist, a shifter and an Ackerman in the same spot together.”

Levi grimaced at that reminder, which Hange caught. “Sucks to be from such an infamous bloodline, doesn’t it?” She laughed when he gave her the finger before biting into his food, which tasted pretty good for something that came out of Hange’s kitchen. “But seriously, I do wonder what *his* bloodline is like.”

Taking the time to swallow, Levi shrugged and set aside his meal long enough to pour some tea. “If you promise not to mess with anything, check it out in the morning. I know the brat was curious himself as to where his talent came from, his mother’s bloodline or his father’s.” He had just set the pot down when long, wiry arms wrapped around him. “Dammit!”

“Thank you! Mwah!” Hange gave him a wet kiss on the left side of his face before she leapt back out of reach. “You’re the best!”

“Dammit! It’s a good thing I didn’t shower yet because now I have to scrub off your gross germs!” If Levi didn’t need to eat something after all of the magic he’d cast earlier, he’d jump in the shower now. Instead, he wiped at the side of his face several times with his sleeve until the burn of all that friction removed the disgusting feel of Hange’s lips on his skin.

Hange waved aside the complaint as she resumed her seat at the table. “Aw, you know you love me. When do you think our sleeping beauty will wake up?”

He considered the question as he finished one of the quesadillas. “Probably a few more hours, since he did a lot of fighting and took on most of the were. His talent… is pretty impressive.”

“Says the guy who raises the dead and controls ghosts.”

Levi shrugged again and went about fixing his tea. “And the person who fucks up people by messing with their blood. Still, his magic….” He paused with the door to the fridge open and the bottle of milk in his hand. “It feels powerful and wild, like nothing I’ve ever felt before. It feels….” He shook his head when he realized that he almost admitted to Hange that it felt ‘good’.

“Now that’s interesting.” Hange’s fingers hovered over the laptop’s keyboard while she frowned at him. “Your magic is so wrapped up around him I can barely sense his own, which is something else that’s pretty rare. You two have to be extremely compatible for his magic to accept your own like that and not fight it off.” She raised her eyebrows as if expecting some sort of answer.

All he did was give her a one-shoulder shrug and go about fixing his tea. He could feel the weight of her gaze on his back, but he refused to answer, to talk about Eren and his magic – about *their* magic. It was just too personal, that and Hange could be too much of a meddling pain in the ass at the best of times. If she found out that Levi was attracted to the brat? She’d be insufferable.

*******

“Eren! Leave the dishes for later, I want to do this *now*!”

“But there’s not that many, it’ll only take a minute to- ah!” Eren was dragged away from the breakfast dishes soaking in the sink by an insistent Hange and looked for help at Levi, who was seated at the table with a pot of tea.

The necromancer shrugged while holding onto the mug with his fingertips, a weary look on his face even though he had seemed fine just a short time ago. “Just give in, she’ll keep harping on you about it until you do.”

Hange stuck out her tongue at Levi even as she shoved Eren into one of the empty chairs at the now clean table. “Ha ha, you make me sound like some demented harpy.” When Levi gave her a bland look back, she flipped him the finger before focusing her attention back on Eren. “I want to check your blood now – Levi said it’s all right.” When Eren glanced at the other man to confirm this and received a curt nod, the witch let out an excited laugh and ran out of the room.

“Look, I know she’s crazy and it’s pretty freaky, that shit she does, but she won’t use it against you,” Levi assured him. “It’ll get you some answers, too.”

“I guess.” Eren rubbed his hands against his legs as he fought his sudden nerves, the fabric of the borrowed jeans soft against his skin. “It’s just odd to imagine she’ll discover anything that way.”

Hange raced back into the room with a small leather bag in her hands, the light reflecting off of her glasses. “Because I’m the best at what I do! And, well, one of the few who do what I do.” She set the bag on the table and went to fetch a paper towel, which she set down near the bag. Upon opening the bag, she pulled out rubber gloves, some packets of alcohol wipes, a small box containing cotton balls, and a small plastic container which turned out to hold small metal lancets and thin plastic tubes.

“Let me see your hand, either one,” she told Eren as she pulled on the gloves, so he held out his right hand. After ripping open an alcohol wipe, she swapped his right middle finger and waited a few seconds before holding up the lancet. “This will sting for a second.”

“It’s okay, just know I heal pretty quick,” he warned.

“Well, in that case….” Hange drove the lancet rather deep into his finger, causing him to bite back on the yelp of pain, especially when she squeezed hard to make the wound bleed. Even as the blood welled up, there was a faint bit of steam as the wound healed almost within an instant.

“Fascinating,” Hange murmured as she dropped the lancet on the paper towel and swiped up the tube so it could suck up the blood. She let go of Eren’s hand and raised the tube to her mouth, where she then proceeded to suck it dry.

In the process of grabbing a cotton ball so he could wipe away the traces of blood that remained on his finger, Eren stared in shock as he watched her drink his blood. “Ah, is this-“

“It’s disgusting, but it’s what she does,” Levi said as he sipped his tea.

Meanwhile, Hange sat with her eyes closed for several seconds, before she tossed the empty tube aside and gasped. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing a brilliant red behind the glass lenses. “Oh. *Oh*. This is amazing! I’ve never seen stuff like this! So many unknown genes! So many incredible sequences!” Her hands rose into the air in front of her and twisted about as if grabbing at things only she could see. “You take after your mother, don’t you? Oh yes, that skin and hair, it’s definitely from her, but….” She frowned at Eren. “Huh, made a *little* change, didn’t you?” She glanced at Levi before shaking her head. “The eyes, that’s from your father’s side, though… as is your talent.”

“My father?” Eren felt stunned by the words, as he’d suspected that his talent had come from his mother. “Really?”

“Yes, it’s all here in the blood,” Hange assured him. “Definitely from your father, and quite a talent it is.” Her eyes narrowed as she reached for something. “I’ve honestly never seen anything like this, not even when looking through Levi’s blood. There’s something, it’s- aow!” She shook her hands as if they’d been burned. “Dammit, that’s nasty!” She blinked her eyes a few times and they returned to normal. “You’ve got something in you, something powerful that doesn’t like to be messed with by outside forces.”

Once again Eren was confused and surprised by what Hange had found. “What do you mean? There’s nothing powerful about me.” He looked at his hands and allowed them to shift into claws for a moment before returning to ‘normal’.

Hange began to clean up the medical supplies and then went to throw them away; Eren was relieved to see that she disposed of them in the fireplace in the living room. When she came back, she had a bottle of whisky in her hand and went to fetch three clean glasses. “Look, I know what I ‘saw’ when I tested your blood, and while I don’t understand it completely, you have something inside of you with, as Levi would say, a shit-ton of potential.” She set the glasses on the table and poured them all about two shots of the strong liquor. “What do you know about being a shifter?”

He picked up one of the glasses and held it between his hands. “Honestly? Not much that I didn’t figure out between trial and error, in finding out the hard way. One of my friends, Armin, is really smart and did a bit of research, but there’s not much out there other than, well, you know.” He hated the way his cheeks grew heated, especially because Levi was sitting just a few feet away. “I tend to react to people’s desires under certain stimuli and can shift to their preferred form. I’m not as much constrained to restrictions when shifting like were are, and there’s the healing. Unlike them, I can manage spells, though I’ve only learned some basic ones.” If he’d stayed with Armin and Mikasa longer, he’d know more but it hadn’t been worth the danger to them.

Hange tossed back the alcohol as if she did it on a regular basis and frowned. “Your parents, no, your father, didn’t tell you anything?”

A sudden wash of bitterness filled Eren’s mouth, prompting him to sip the whisky. Gah, it was as strong as it smelled. “No, he stuttered out. “He didn’t tell me a damn thing about how to be a shifter.”

Levi held onto the glass in that weird way of his but didn’t drink any. “You said something about your mom dying and your dad disappearing. Did it have anything to do with what you are?” There was a gentleness to the question which let Eren know that Levi hadn’t asked it lightly.

Running his left hand through his hair and tugging on the strands as a mild distraction from the pain the memories of his mother always brought up, Eren laughed a couple of seconds at the question. “In hindsight? Hell yes.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I was only eight when my mom died – it wasn’t long after we took in Mikasa, my adopted sister. A good friend of the family stopped by to visit and we were out in the back as he was teaching us checkers. My mom left to go answer the door and….” He paused to drink more whisky. “She came back out and something was wrong. I remember that her smile was off and she wouldn’t come out into the yard, she just stood in the doorway as she told Hannes that she had company and that he should bring us back for a visit another day, that she was always happy to see all of us and thanked him for bringing us by. Before I could ask what was going on, Hannes told her we’d be back in a few days and grabbed me and Mikasa. As soon as we were out in the street, he picked us up and ran.” Eren still remembered screaming for his mother, confused and afraid about what was happening, about why Hannes was taking him away all of a sudden. “I don’t know how he managed to carry us so far away, but as soon as he couldn’t go any farther, he stopped and called the police. It was too late, though.” He fought back the urge to cry and finished off the whisky.

Hange refilled up his glass without being asked. “She was a very brave woman.”

“She should have asked for help, not for him to take us away.” That was what bothered him to this day.

“Which is why she was so brave,” Hange insisted. “She was your mother, she wanted you to be safe.”

Eren rubbed at his eyes with the back of his right hand. “Yeah, well, after that my dad moved us away, and we met Armin and his grandfather, which was a good thing since Dad wasn’t around too much. He said it was for work, but….” Eren shook his head. “It got worse after my talent came out, it was as if Dad was scared of me.”

Levi looked up from his glass to stare at Eren. “He never said *anything*?”

Eren shook his head and then paused. “One time… he said something about me being a ‘key’.” He scratched at the back of his head. “The key? That and I had to be careful, but I mean, I was a shifter? I knew I had to be careful. He told Mikasa to watch out for me but she was doing that already and it only made her even worse.” He grimaced as he thought of how overprotective she’d become. “It wasn’t long after that he never came back home. We searched the office and found a bunch of money and some fake IDs for all of us. A week later some mages attacked, and after we dealt with them we decided that we should disappear, too.” They’d been on the run ever since.

“Key?” Levi finished off his drink in one smooth toss before looking at Hange. “That make any sense to you?”

She frowned as she fussed with her glasses. “Keys have a lot of symbolism behind them, but I don’t think I’ve heard anything in relations to shifters. Let me look into it – it’ll take some time without tripping any alarms, though.”

There was a rude sound from Levi as he reached over to snatch at Eren’s half-finished whisky. “As long as the wards and protection spells hold to hide us, we’re not going anywhere despite your nasty ass.”

Hange laughed as she lifted her glass as if in a toast. “Considering I used your little goody bag to whip up some extra special wards, you two should have officially gone off ‘the radar’. I get to bask in the gloriousness that is your radiant personality for days to come, Grumpy.”

Levi made a rude gesture at her and snatched up the whisky bottle. “Eat shit and die.”

“Ah, there it is.” Hange hummed a happy tune as she turned toward Eren. “We’re going to have a *wonderful* time. Has anyone taught you how to cast a basic plague spell yet?”

Eren blinked a couple of times before admitting no, no one had. Levi moaned and complained about how Hange was a menace to humanity while Hange crowed in delight and pulled Eren from the table while babbling about the principles of cursing people with fatal diseases.

*******


	2. I charge thee, hence, and do not haunt me thus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, thank you so much for the comments and kudos on this fic, they are so greatly appreciated! The response definitely helps to feed into the urge to get this fic out there! It is a rather fun one to write for this time of year. 
> 
> You'll notice more people are beginning to show up (some behind the scenes) - which is both a good and bad thing.  
> *******

*******

Erwin studied the dead were at his feet, his eyes drawn to the brand on its hind leg while his mind considered various possibilities.

“Gonna be like that all night?”

“Perhaps.” He looked up to discover that Mike had shifted back to his human form and shrugged out of his Burberry trench coat to hand it over to the naked man. “Though I have to admit, it is a bit disconcerting to have a member of the Trost pack this far out of their territory.”

“Smelled real desperate to me.” Mike inhaled long and deep through his nose before shaking his head, which caused his thick and shaggy bangs to fly about his face. “And a bit mad when she was fighting.”

Those comments indicated that the were had most likely been under a geas, which would explain why she hadn’t backed down once Mike had shifted; she had to have known there was no way a wolf could defeat something as unusual and powerful as him. “Something is going on here-“

“Huh, you think?”

Erwin shot a warning glare at his friend, which Mike ignored with ease as he fell in step beside him once Erwin decided that he’d examined the corpse long enough and called up flames to destroy it before moving away. “Something is going on here,” he repeated with a touch of reproof, and caught a hint of sharp teeth from Mike. “And who is normally to blame when something is going on?”

Mike rubbed at the side of his nose while heaving a heartfelt sigh. “Hange for weird bug stuff, Levi for most everything else.”

“Yes, exactly. Since this isn’t some unknown or long dormant disease running rampant, I think we can exclude Hange for now.” Though not entirely, since she loved to involve herself with their favorite sociopathic necromancer. “Levi it is, though I must say, I’m rather impressed with who he’s managed to annoy this time.” Erwin pinched the bridge of his nose and wondered just what part of ‘lay low until I call for you’ his temperamental friend didn’t understand – and why Hange wasn’t keeping a tighter rein over Levi. Oh, who was he kidding? Whatever trouble Levi had ended up in this time, the blood witch was probably cheering him on for the hell of it.

“He’s going to need an army of the dead when I find out what he’s been up to,” Erwin muttered as he wrapped his plaid scarf tighter around his neck. “He knows how important it is to not draw attention to us until everything is ready. All he had to do was stay at home, read a book or three and drink his tea. How hard is that?”

Mike huffed a little, as if amused.

“Exactly,” Erwin sighed as he ran his gloved right hand over his hair. “I truly should have known better.”

*******

“Where the fuck are your brains? Did you shit them out this morning or what? Focus, dammit!” Levi flicked his fingers at Eren’s left ear to make the brat concentrate.

“The hell? I am focused! Do you really expect me to learn this spell in like two tries?” Eren rubbed at his ear while glaring.

“Why not? I got it on the first one.”

Eren made a gagging sound as he wiped the palm of his hands on the black sweatpants which Hange had bought for him, the cuffs rolled up because of his lack of height. “Oh, right, because you’re the ‘great’ Levi.”

“And you’re a shitty brat who should be grateful to learn from someone like me,” Levi growled out. From the corner of his eye he saw Hange stir while over at her desk with a worried expression on her face, and he ran his fingers through his hair attempted to rein in his temper. Dammit, he was in a bad mood and taking it out on Eren, who sat across from him in the temporary magic circle with a mulish expression from being snapped at for the past half an hour. No, more like for the entire morning, all because Levi had woken up for the second time in a row with an armful of sleeping, attractive shifter and too fucking hard for words.

He let out a shaky breath and rubbed at the nape of his neck. “Let’s try again,” he said in a softer tone of voice. “Center yourself and-“ Just then he felt a ‘tug’ from one of the sentry spirits he’d posted around Hange’s property.

Hange leapt up and went running for the door. “Yay! We’ve got a visitor.”

“What?” He reached for Eren’s left arm and tugged the brat in close while he concentrated on that spirit, on the sense of magic he could pick up through it and only relaxed when he recognized who was approaching the house. “Moblit’s here?”

Hange must have tuned in on the disbelief and bit of anger he was feeling since she flashed him an uneven smile. “Don’t worry, I didn’t tell him about Eren! Just follow my lead.” She bounced on her toes until there was a knock on the door and then threw it open so she could welcome her erstwhile assistant inside. “Moby-baby, it’s so good to see you!” She swamped the poor guy with a hug.

“Ah, it’s only been about a week, ma’am.” The were’s face went a splotchy red at the sign of affection, and it seemed to take him a few seconds to realize that Hange had company; during that time, Levi dispelled the protective circle and urged Eren to stand up while still keeping a hold on his arm. Eren stared with what appeared to be curiosity at the man while pressed against Levi’s side, something Levi didn’t discourage.

“Uhm, Levi’s here?” Moblit juggled the bags in his hands as he stepped away from Hange.

“Yes! And he has an apprentice of all things. Moblit, meet Eren.” Hange did a fancy wave of her hand as she gestured in Eren’s direction. “Eren, this is Moblit, my familiar.”

Levi rolled his eyes at the old and terrible joke while Moblit took to blushing again and stuttered out a denial. “I-ah I’m na-not ah-a fah-familiar!” The were set the bags on the floor with a heavy ‘thunk’ and then folded his arms over his chest. “I’m a canine-were!”

“He turns into the most adorable German Shepard,” Hange cooed while she patted him on top of his light brown hair in a manner similar to one petting a dog.

There wasn’t much that affected Levi, but he had to admit that he felt sorry for the poor guy who had to put up with this shit from Hange. “Why don’t you just cut off his fucking balls?” he muttered as he felt Eren shiver against him.

“Huh? Why would I want to physically castrate poor Moblit? He hasn’t done anything to deserve it, and I could always just chemically alter his blood if it came to that.” Hange frowned in confusion while poor Moblit appeared ready to die of embarrassment.

This was getting them nowhere. Levi sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why the fuck did you call the unlucky guy here, other than to torment him?”

“I don’t torment him,” Hange insisted as she stepped toward the bags that Moblit had dropped. “I asked him to pick up a few things for me.”

That seemed to catch Eren’s attention. “Anything for me?” He craned his neck to look over at the bags while he picked at the soft fabric of the sweatpants, the overlong sleeves of black cardigan he was ‘borrowing’ from Levi sliding down to cover his hands.

Hange shook her head as she picked a book out of one of the bags. “Not exactly.” She gave Levi a loaded glance as she straightened up. “There’s some packages that should arrive soon, but for now, I asked Moblit to fetch some books for me that Levi can probably use to teach you a few spells.”

Books that probably had some information on shifters and ‘keys’, among other things, if Levi had to guess. “What, you couldn’t just order stuff from Amazon?”

Moblit made a pained noise and shook his head. “These have been in storage for at least a century – I had to drive half the night to get them.” He picked up the other bag for Hange. “I also got those herbs you wanted.”

“Great!” She beamed at him and motioned for toward the kitchen. “That’ll help with a couple of spells I want to try. Do you want something to eat before you go? Eren made these fantastic frittatas for breakfast and there’s some left over.”

The offer of food perked up Moblit and put a smile on his face. “That would be great, since I didn’t have time to stop for much. There’s still some more books out in the car.”

“We’ll get them later.” Hange set her bag on the table and went to fetch the food, while Levi decided to check out what Moblit had brought with Eren tagging along. The books did indeed look old and at least one of them was in an indecipherable language.

Eren ran a finger over the spine of one of the books. “So there are a lot of spells in here?”

“Should be, and probably a bunch of other crazy shit that it’s best to be kept away from people like Hange.”

“Hey! I heard that, Grumpy!”

Levi ignored Hange’s protest while he gave Eren a pointed look. “Still, like she said, should be able to find a few useful things in thing to help you out.” That was about all he’d say in front of Moblit.

Eren ducked his head and took a deep breath as he continued to touch the book for a moment, and then let his hand fall back to his side. “Is that how you learned? From books?” When he looked up again, his brows were drawn together and his eyes shone brighter than normal.

“Not really.” It wasn’t often that Levi talked about his past, but for some reason it didn’t bother him as much when the inquiries came to Eren. “My uncle taught me the basics, and then Hange and another friend helped me out with the finer control. There’s not much out there on necromancy since everyone’s scared shitless about it.”

“He was such a prodigy,” Hange called out from the fridge, where she was digging for the food promised to Moblit. “Erwin and I were in awe of how he soaked up everything.”

“A prodigy, huh?” For the first time in what seemed to be hours, Eren smiled up at Levi, his turquoise colored eyes sparkling with good humor. “Who would expect that from the ‘great’ Levi?”

“Damn right, brat,” Levi drawled as he tucked aside a lock of dark brown hair that had fallen across Eren’s nose. When Eren tilted his head as if to follow Levi’s fingers, Levi found his touch lingering for a few seconds, the feel of Eren’s warmth and magic soaking into his hand as Eren continued to stare up at him with those eyes….

“Oooh, Levi’s pretty ‘great’ all right.” Hange was so close all of a sudden that both Levi and Eren jumped at her presence; Eren’s hands spouted claws, which caused Levi to snatch at them and pull the brat against him before Moblit noticed. Eren’s face became flushed in return, and Hange cackled like the madwoman she was and patted Levi on the back. “You can learn so much from him, Eren-honey, which is why you should stick close with the grump. Really, *really* close.”

He was going to kill her. He was going to kill her, take pleasure in obliterating her spirit so there was no chance in any of the hells that she could ever be reincarnated, and then use her corpse as his personal house maid until it disintegrated, just watch him.

Meanwhile, Moblit seemed too preoccupied with making himself something to eat to notice much. “Is there any coffee, ma’am?”

Hange gave Levi’s back one more pat while his hands were still occupied with Eren and then fled to safety. “I can brew some more!”

“Thank you.”

“While you’re eating, we can talk about a few more things I need you to track down for me. I got a response from Pixis late last night, and he’s willing to swap out some books for a short while.”

“But it’ll take me days to fetch them!”

As Hange placated her overworked assistant, Levi took a deep breath and loosened his hold on Eren’s hands, which were back to normal now. “All right?” he murmured.

Eren nodded once, his face downturned as if he didn’t want to look up at Levi yet he didn’t pull away. “Sorry.”

“Guess it’s a good thing that you’re such a short shit,” Levi teased, a part of him highly amused by the fact that *he* could say those words as he tugged at the overlong – on Eren – sleeves which covered the shifter’s now normal hands. Eren’s head snapped up and for some reason he gave Levi an odd look before a lopsided smile tugged at the right corner of his mouth.

“Yeah, guess it is.” He stared at the way his fingertips barely poked out of the edges of the sleeves and sighed. “You might never get your stuff back at this point.”

Somehow, that didn’t sound bad at all to Levi; as picky as he was about his belongings, there was something to seeing Eren walk around in *his* sweaters. Something about standing here with Eren so close, with his hands on Eren’s hips and their magic entwined.

Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he stepped away and jerked his head toward the living room. “Come on, let’s go back to practicing.” Now that he felt calmer he’d been before Moblit’s arrival, he should have more patience with the training.

There was a flash of something across Eren’s face as he pulled away, which smoothed out when Levi offered to continue the training. “Okay.” He was quick to bridge the space between them and hovered near Levi’s left side, not quite touching yet barely more than an inch or two away until it was time to sit facing each other. Levi missed the brat’s heat as he sat down on the floor, yet as soon as he set up the magic circle around them, there was the rush of Eren’s magic so things felt right once more.

Fuck, was he screwed.

*******

It was karma.

Eren glared at the jar of oregano just out of reach on the upper shelf and figured that this was Fate’s way of getting back at him for all of those times while growing up that he’d teased Armin for being short. Never mind that Armin had hit a growth spurt in his early twenties and then teased Eren back, but *something* was now enjoying the fact that Eren was short as hell and couldn’t even reach a damn jar of spices while standing on his tip toes. He was going to have to pull over the chair, wasn’t he? Why the hell couldn’t he shift himself back to his original height anymore?

About to take a step back to fetch the damn chair, he felt a rush of familiar magic and then something solid pressed against his back the same time that he took a deep breath and inhaled the comforting scent of cedar soap and Levi.

This just wasn’t his day, was it?

“Need me to get something for you, *short stuff*?” Levi’s breath hit Eren’s right ear and made him shiver.

“Like you can do much better, old man,” he grumbled as he forced himself to clutch at the counter. “You’re what, a whole inch taller than me?”

“Yes, but sometimes that inch can make all the difference in the world,” Levi drawled as he pressed even harder against Eren and managed to grab onto the traitorous jar of spice.

No. No no no no no. The last thing Eren wanted to hear right now was innuendo from the man, not when Eren had to fight to keep from pressing his ass back against him, not when he’d woken up this morning clutching at a pillow which smelled like Levi, with the asshole’s scent clinging to his skin and rubbing against- *No*. All he needed was to trust Levi, he didn’t need to be twisted up with sexual frustration as well. “You just got lucky,” he sulked as Levi dangled the jar in front of his eyes while still pressed against him.

Levi scoffed before he set the jar on the counter. “Lucky that I’m not as tiny as you. No wonder you shift into a giant to fight – you’re puny.” He poked at Eren’s right arm as if to make a point.

Okay, so maybe Eren wasn’t made out of solid muscle like a certain necromancer, but he wasn’t that bad, was he? Being on the run for the last thirteen years had put on a few muscles, mostly because Mikasa had made him learn to defend himself while not shifted into a hulking monstrosity. What really had him annoyed as that *he wasn’t supposed to be this short*, and the reason he was had the audacity to give him shit about it. “I would think that someone like *you* would have a bit more sympathy for a twerp like me,” Eren spat out as he knocked his elbow back into Levi’s ribs with as much force as he could muster.

The blow seemed to take Levi by surprise, yet when Eren spun around to follow up with another strike, Levi had his arms ready to block and did something with his left leg that swiped Eren’s feet out from under him and sent him crashing to the floor. Letting out a yelp as he fell, he found his body unresponsive as he attempted to shift because despite the fearsome glower on the necromancer’s face, he wasn’t picking up any true anger or hostility from Levi. Fuck, when had he become so locked in to Levi’s emotions? This was bad, this was really, *really* bad, was-

“Pathetic.” Just the one word, but Levi made sure it conveyed more than enough scorn to have Eren squirm. “I can tell that we’ll be adding physical self-defense along with the magical lessons.” He loomed over Eren, knees on either side of Eren’s hips and wrists pinned to the floor.

“I know how to fight!” Eren bared his teeth at the asshole even though they weren’t fangs.

Levi clicked his tongue a couple of times and shook his head. “You know how to tear things apart. What you did just now was *pathetic*,” he repeated.

“Mikasa taught me a few things,” Eren mumbled while he attempted to yank his wrists free.

“She taught you jack-shit from what I can tell, that or you rely on your shifting too much. Maybe if you knew how to fight properly, you could have taken on those were back in Karanese without revealing that you’re a shifter.” Levi’s eyes narrowed when he noticed that the jab had hit its mark.

“Fine,” Eren ground out. “You’re the ‘great’ Levi, you know it all. Teach me the ways of your wisdom oh great Jedi master, pretty please.”

The sarcasm seemed to just piss him off even more, since Levi leaned in closer, a hint of silver in his grey eyes and the feel of magic skittering along Eren’s skin to the point that he wanted to moan. “You think this is a fucking joke? That we’re hiding out here for the fun of it? Very powerful people want to turn you into a shitty *toy*,” his hands tightened around Eren’s wrists hard enough to hurt, “one with even less brains than right now if that’s possible, and you think that I’m here for the hell of it?”

“No,” Eren gritted out as he shook his head. “I’m sorry that I dragged you into this. I don’t think it’s a joke, I don’t want them to… to… I don’t know what’s going on but I’m glad you’re here,” he confessed, upset that he’d pushed Levi too far by speaking without thinking. “I’m sorry.”

Levi let out a ragged breath and bent forward enough that his bangs brushed against Eren’s heated face. “You better be, brat. You better learn whatever shit I cram into that empty head of yours.”

“Yes sir.”

Eren’s response made Levi blink and his lips curl up at the corners, just a tiny bit. “Don’t call me ‘sir’, it’s creepy.” He stared down at Eren, his hands still tight around Eren’s wrists, and then… Eren felt the emotions *shift*, either his or Levi’s or both, and the next thing he knew rough lips were brushing against his own, gentle at first and then insistent. As he parted his own lips, he strained at the hold Levi had on his wrists, eager to slide his fingers into Levi’s hair, to tug that muscular body down onto his so-

“Hey Grumpy, did you see where I put that book on sympathetic mag-eeyikes. Oh, wow, stay right there, I need a picture of this.”

“Fucking shitty glasses,” Levi snarled as he pulled away from Eren, his hands still wrapped around Eren’s wrists so Eren found himself yanked up from the floor as he stared in shock at Hange’s retreating back. “Don’t even think about it or else I’ll shred your soul into mist!”

“Ha! I have to *have* a soul for that threat to work, and dammit, you moved!” There was a distinct pout on her face when Hange returned to the kitchen with a phone clutched in her right hand. “How am I going to get the evidence now?”

“Evidence of what?” Levi let go of Eren’s wrists but wrapped his left arm around Eren’s waist instead; Eren used the freedom to scrub at his flushed face and wished that he could shift into something tiny, like a house cat, yet once again his talent didn’t want to behave while Levi was near. What was going on? First there was his messed up shifting and now he swore he was picking up Levi’s emotions, something that wasn’t the case with Hange. All he sensed was a general trust when he thought about the blood witch, but that was all. Normally this depth of empathy didn’t happen unless he knew someone for a long period of time, like with Mikasa and Armin, or unless he was-. Nope, not going there, he told himself as he tugged on his bangs.

“Never mind that,” Hange insisted with a nervous smile as she hid the phone behind her back. “What’s more important is what’s going on with the two of *you*.” Her grin widened as she made a fist bump in Levi’s direction. “You go, you! I always knew you had it in you to make the moves on something not dead!”

This time it was Eren’s turn to wrap his arms around Levi. “If you kill her, the wards will disappear,” he warned as an overwhelming sense of Levi’s magic filled the room. “We need those wards!” The spirits that had begun to coalesce in the room slowly faded away as Levi took several deep breaths and began to calm down.

He clicked his tongue twice before he patted Eren’s arms wrapped around his chest. “How soon will dinner be ready?”

Realizing that the question had been posed to him, Eren blinked in surprise then gave it some thought. “Uhm, probably another hour.” He let go of Levi when it looked as if the man was in control of himself, even as it almost physically hurt to lose contact with him and that delicious sense of magic. “I’m going to need another bottle of red wine, though.”

“Really? You need two for the ragout?” Hange went over to one of the cabinets to fetch it.

“No, the second one’s for me,” Eren complained as he rubbed at the back of his tense neck. He barely got three steps away before there was a smack to the back of his head. “Ow!”

“You’re not getting drunk when we could be under attack at any moment,” Levi ordered. “Don’t be a brat.”

*This* was the man he’d wanted to fuck him into the floor two minutes ago? Eren whined as he tugged on his hair and wondered just when things had gotten so messed up and why his magic hated him so much.

Meanwhile Hange all but cackled as she put back the bottle of wine. “Now, not to be a busybody at all, but I’m just saying as someone who’s had both of your blood, I find it interesting that you have something in common in that you’re both disease-free, if ya know what I mean, wink wink.” There was a broad grin on her face as she leaned against the cabinet.

The air took to shimmering for a few seconds before Levi slashed his right hand through it. “I’m going to be outside for a little while looking for dead things to explode. Or not so dead things. Feel free to join me.” He cast a pointed glare Hange’s way before stomping out of the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Eren rubbed at his temples in a futile effort to stave off a headache. “Hange….”

“Sorry, honey, but nope, no extra bottle of wine before dinner while he’s in a mood like that.” She shrugged and gave him an apologetic look for a few seconds. “But, I bet if he doesn’t cool off by this evening, you’re in for a treat at bed-time!”

It wasn’t quite the same thing as exploding dead stuff, but Eren was going to enjoy chopping the shit out of the vegetables and meat for the ragout, yes he was.

*******

Hange grinned around her mouthful of ragout and swallowed. “Wow, *I’m* seriously considering slapping some geas on your boyfriend there, Grumpy, and keeping him for myself. Dinner is delicious.”

Eren slumped a little more over his own bowl of food while Levi’s eyes took on a silver cast and he appeared ready to gut her with his spoon. “Why are you still breathing?”

“Hmm, yeah, I keep thinking that I’ve found those genes that’ll let me just absorb oxygen through my skin but no luck yet.” She waved her spoon around as she frowned. “Even tried it out on this one earth mage who thought he could break through my wards by pretending to be a sycamore tree of all things, but nope, no luck.” It was so annoying when she felt she was *so close* to a breakthrough and nothing happened. Well, nothing good. Something usually happened, but it was a bunch of screaming and convulsing and blood shooting everywhere and bleh.

Levi gave her a blank stare for several seconds before he clicked his tongue and looked away. “Don’t fucking touch the brat, understood?”

Oh ho, someone didn’t argue about the ‘boyfriend’ label, did they? “But you have to admit that he’s a pretty good cook.”

“He does all right.” Levi reached over to shove at Eren’s shoulder. “For a short shit.”

Eren finally looked up and rolled his eyes. “You’re so loving this, aren’t you? Must have been like your birthday coming early to find someone shorter than you.”

“Please, as if I let my height define me – as proven earlier, I can take you or anyone else down.”

“And being an asshole helps a lot.”

“An asshole who wiped the floor with you.”

Hange resumed eating while the two continued with their verbal sparring, for all intents and purposes locked into their own little world. She found it very interesting that what started the squabble was Levi picking on Eren’s height – or lack of it – when she’d read in Eren’s genes the fact that he should be at least a few inches taller. It was well known that shifters changed when influenced by people, either those who had them under geas or in times of strong emotion such as desire or anger. From what she could tell, Eren must have been influenced upon first meeting Levi for her friend not to realize that Eren had been anything other than how he appeared now – which was most unusual. And for Eren not to shift back to ‘normal’ meant that he was either unwilling to do so… or unable. Oh yeah something was going on here, besides two sexy guys making out on her kitchen floor and sexual tension thick enough to cut with a butter knife.

For some reason Eren held up a piece of buttered bread in a threatening manner, which made Levi, *Levi*, grin as he snatched at Eren’s hand. “Didn’t I smack you down hard enough last time?” There was an unexpected heat to Levi’s voice just then, and that adorable pink blush spread across Eren’s cheeks as his eyes went wide.

Huh, Hange wondered if she could sneak out of here without either of the guys noticing her – and snap a few pictures at the same time. Though dammit, there was no way she could send it off to Erwin, Mike and the others since Eren was supposed to be a secret. She bit into the spoon as the air seemed to thicken around her from the heady sense of magic, that of Levi’s and Eren’s while the two lovebirds continued to stare at each other.

Okay, she knew that Levi was a bit backwards when it came to the whole ‘dating’ thing – being a necromancer and a powerful one at that was sorta a major damper on one’s Grindr’s profile. From the sounds of it, Eren had spent a lot of time on the run so she wondered if he had been able to fool around much, either. Oh, this was just sad. Amusing as hell, but also sad.

“You know, there’s some lube in the spare bedroom that the two of you could be putting to great use right about now rather than giving me a headache from the feel of all this magic bouncing around.” She picked up her wineglass and swirled it about as an illustration while both of them jerked their heads around to gape at her. “I mean, obviously it’s a turn on to you, but I feel as if I’m being battered about by a bad love spell or something.” She paused to take a sip and thought about things a little more. “Or you could go at it on the floor again, which I wouldn’t mind.”

Levi was still for several seconds, and then all of a sudden he lunged for the bread knife, only to be stopped by Eren. “Wards!”

“I’ll use her body and her spirit to craft new ones,” Levi growled out as he none-the-less allowed Eren to pull his hand away from the ‘weapon’. “It’ll work, trust me.”

“Oh I do, what I don’t trust is what she has in *her* blood.” Eren cast a worried glance Hange’s way while he shoved the nearest wineglass into Levi’s hand.

Hange giggled as she waggled her left forefinger at the grump glaring at her. “You’ve got a smart one there, Grumpy. Best keep him.”

He gave her a sour look while he sipped the wine. “Don’t need you to tell me what to do.”

“Hmm, think so because you’re not dragging him back into the spare bedroom.” She giggled some more when he spat out the wine he’d just sipped.

Meanwhile, poor Eren was red as a beet. “Cou-could you please stop saying such things! We’re not- I don’t- it’s… just don’t,” he stammered as he handed Levi several napkins. “You really could manage the wards?” he asked Levi.

“Eren-honey, how could you do that to me?” Hange wailed as she clutched the half-empty glass of wine to her chest. “I’m on your side! I just want you to get laid!”

Levi appeared rather smug as he wiped clean his chin and neck. “Nothing you don’t deserve, you lunatic.” His smile vanished, to be replaced by the steely look he normally gave people before he ripped out their heart, either by digging it out with a knife or via a revenant. “Not another word about… us. Else I’ll make sure Erwin finds out about that ‘little’ outbreak of hoof and mouth five years ago.”

Hange gasped and slammed the glass onto the table. “Blackmail? Really? Well fine,” she huffed. “Go on with the googly eyes and the groping on the floor and fumbling your way through a relationship, see if I care.” She pouted for all of five seconds before sniffing. “All right, I do care, but I’ll butt out.” Besides, if Levi was stooping this low, he had it *bad* and it wouldn’t take long before the sexy times commenced.

“Can we please stop talking about the… floor things,” Eren moaned, his voice muffled since his face was currently buried in his hands with his messy hair falling almost to the table. Ooooh, ‘floor *things*’, huh? *Multiple*. Hange did her best not to smirk.

“*I* think everyone,” Levi seemed to make an effort to glare at Hange while he spoke, “should just stop talking and eat their damn food.”

She made the exaggerated motion of locking her mouth shut and tossing away the imaginary key before scooping up more ragout, which really was good; Levi watched her like a beady-eyed hawk for about a minute before grunting and jabbing Eren in the back, which made the poor shifter groan and sit up straight.

The rest of the meal continued in silence, with Eren and Levi slowly leaning closer to each other while they ate. Hange rolled her eyes even if she found the scene adorable, and wondered if there was a way she could set up a ‘succubus’ circle to syphon off the sexual energy that was certain to be generated at some point that night; waste not, want not as she’d been taught, and that energy could come in handy for some spells.

And dammit, how could she claim the pot if she couldn’t tell anyone? Life was so unfair sometimes.

*******

It was official, life hated Levi. That and Eren was Evil Incarnate.

Levi had spent the evening pouring through the books Moblit had fetched for Hange, desperate for a distraction after the dinner from hell, and stayed up half the night reading until the words had become too blurry to distinguish from each other. He’d contemplated sleeping on the couch but… it was Hange’s couch. Yeah, no thanks.

He’d even gone so far as to put up a minor ward between him and Eren once he’d crawled into bed, hoping that would keep the brat to the one side, and yet here he was, sprawled on his back with an unconscious shifter tucked against his side and breathing against his neck. With his left hand resting on one damn fine ass his imagination was only too happy to give him ideas of what he could be doing to it instead of just lying there, with Eren’s magic soaking into him with each of the brat’s languid heartbeats.

There were a million reasons why Levi should just get up out of bed and take a cold shower, foremost of them the fact that Eren had a very high price on his head, was barely more than a kid, would probably disappear once things were safe enough and that they barely knew each other. There was also the fact that Levi had never felt such a strong desire for anyone like he had for Eren, which should be worrisome – yet all he could think about was that Eren was in bed with him, that Eren was the one who ended up treating him like a human body pillow every fucking night, that Eren-

That Eren had just let out a low moan and was rocking against him now, hips moving steadily….

Fuck this shit.

Levi damn near snarled as he lunged and shoved the infuriating brat onto his back, which startled a yelp out of Eren. There was a flash of gold as Eren’s eyes fluttered open and a gleam of sharp teeth, but other than that, Eren didn’t shift. “Wha? Levah?”

“I’ve had *enough*,” Levi snapped as he straddled Eren’s thighs. “You wanna fuck? Either we fuck or one of us is sleeping with Hange from now on.” And if it was the latter, then there were more dead bodies he needed to explode to help him calm down.

“Fuck?” It seemed as if Eren was a little slow when waking up, so Levi ground his own hard-on down which prompted another of those needy moans from the brat. “Oooh, this isn’t a dream, is it?”

“Hell no, more like a nightmare.” He rested his hands on the wall above Eren’s head and sighed, his own head hung forward. “You’re driving me crazy.”

Eren made a sound as if he was choking and sat up until his forehead bumped into Levi’s. “Me too.” His right hand trembled as it touched Levi’s bare chest. “I – there’s all this confusion and lust, and it’s not just mine.” He closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. “Never felt things like this before, and then there’s the magic. Your magic.”

It took Levi a couple of seconds to make sense of that, considering how occupied he was just then with the thought that it wouldn’t take much effort to move in for a kiss. “Wait, you’re feeling stuff? You’re feeling my shi- ah, emotions?” He recoiled a little when Eren nodded.

“Don’t think it’s everything, just the strong ones.” Eren opened his eyes and frowned. “The stuff I always pick up on subconsciously, it’s like some switch got turned on all the way for you.”

What was happening here? Levi wasn’t sure he liked the idea of someone knowing how he felt, even if it was just the broad strokes, yet the sense of Eren’s magic as well as the gentle touch all along his chest made him want to groan in pleasure. He reached out to cup Eren’s face and almost smiled at the way those thick lashes fluttered, at how Eren gasped and the sense of their magic twisting together grew stronger.

Something seemed to push them together, and Levi… Levi was losing any and all resistance the more he touched Eren. “Get the fuck out of here if you don’t want this,” he warned again as he leaned in.

“Hmm, but it’s so nice here,” Eren breathed out as he closed his eyes. “Nice with you.”

That was a first for Levi; he huffed a little as the fingers of his right hand threaded through Eren’s mussed hair. “Last chance.”

As if in answer, Eren bridge the space between them and pressed their lips together; Levi moaned at the contact and his fingers clenched, determined not to allow Eren to pull away. The brat didn’t, and was quick to part his lips as if sensing Levi’s need.

Sensing. Shifter.

Levi jerked away in a rush which prompted a whine from Eren, and studied the shifter, intent on any signs of change.

“What?” Anger flashed in Eren’s brilliant eyes for a moment, and then he frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re not changing.” Hange had said that Eren’s face and form was his original, so shouldn’t he be changing now? Didn’t a shifter… well, shift during these moments?

Eren’s frown deepened and he toyed with the hem of the sweatshirt he’d worn to bed. “Why would I? You seem to like me as I am.” Then his eyes narrowed. “Unless you have any weird kinks we need to discuss, then maybe I will go sleep with Hange.”

That earned him a light tap to the side of the head. “You little shit, no I don’t.” While Eren whined, Levi tugged him forward. “This is really how you are?”

A slight blush spread across Eren’s cheekbones. “I’ve always looked like this.”

“Huh.” Levi brushed the back of his knuckles along the right side of Eren’s lovely face. “That’s good, it would be some weird shit if you shifted during sex.”

The sense of heat intensified beneath his fingers and then Eren attempted to duck his head. “I tried… well, there were one or two guys when I was younger. Never got very far because… even if it felt good, I just can’t go on when I realize they don’t really want *me*. That I’m changing so much for them.”

“Huh? Oh.” So in other words, Eren hadn’t gotten too far because of others wanting him to change. Meanwhile, it was the opposite for Levi – the few times when he had felt the desire to be with someone, they had been put off by his magical nature so there hadn’t been much past some blow jobs and mutual jerkoff sessions. “Why would anyone want you to change? You’re perfect the way you are.” All gorgeous eyes and sun-kissed skin, a contrast of colors that made Levi want to stare and touch and stroke.

Eren cast him a look through those thick eyelashes, cheeks once more ablaze with some strong emotion. “Seriously – other than my, well, my family, only you like seeing me this way.” He caught Levi’s hand and pressed it against his cheek. “I think that’s why in part I knew I could trust you.”

“Idiot,” Levi chided him as he tilted Eren’s face upward. “Just means I have good taste, not that I’m trustworthy. Have a lot of rather unmentionable thoughts about you right now.”

He found himself tugged forward as Eren squirmed onto his lap, right on his fucking cock, the tease. “Hmm, think I’m picking up on how they go. Maybe you should teach me a lesson so I know better next time.”

Perhaps it was the feel of Eren against him, kissing him, clearly eager for whatever was going to happen next. Or maybe it was the lash of that wild, addictive magic against his own, so insidious as it sunk its claws into Levi. It could have been a mix of both, or the fact that some part of Levi had wanted this since he’d hauled Eren up off the ground back in Karanese but the next thing he knew, he’d grabbed onto the back of the light blue sweatshirt Eren was wearing and pulled on it until something tore.

“Huh?” Eren broke off the kiss and twisted around as if to look behind him, but Levi used the space between them as an opportunity to yank the ripped shirt over the brat’s head.

“Arms up.” Eren sputtered a little as the fabric rushed over his face, but soon he was clad only in his boxers, just like Levi. Boxers which did little to hide the fact that he was just as ‘eager’ for this, like Levi. “Last chance,” Levi warned, though he wasn’t certain if it was for Eren or himself.

He got an oddly knowing look for his concern as Eren reached to run a hand over his collarbones. “You don’t really mean that.”

“Mean what?”

“That you’re fine with me leaving.” He looked at Levi with eyes darkened with desire, strands of tousled hair in his face as his fingers left burning trails of magic and heat along Levi’s upper chest.

Fuck it, Levi had done his best, he told himself as he tumbled the little shit onto the bed. He almost asked if Eren was this much of a cock-tease with the other guys, until he remembered what Eren had told him, and then had to wonder if *this* was what *he* liked. Shit, was he fucked up or what.

Eren’s lips were parted when he dove in for a kiss, so eager and responsive that a moan slipped free from Levi before he knew it, his hands buried in Eren’s hair as his hips ground down and pleasure coiled deep in his stomach. So. Fucking. Responsive. He had to tear himself away before he came like a damn brat before the age of fifty from just rubbing against someone, a thought spared to send a spirit searching for the damn lube that Hange had mentioned earlier.

“Levi.” Eren reached for him, pupils blown with passion, skin flushed and lips swollen but still *Eren*, still unchanged in a physical sense. Yet his magic seethed so much that Levi felt dizzy from just being near the shifter, and any time Levi moved, Eren did too to match him.

“Not going anywhere,” he said, and then nearly jumped when the drawer on the far nightstand bumped open. Unsure if he should be grateful at the moment or not, Levi scooted across the bed so he could fetch the lube, and after peeking into the drawer, snatched up the unopened bottle he found before slamming it shut. All right, he was having a serious discussion with Hange about what the fuck she stocked for her guests.

The bed shifted and a warm, tingling presence pressed against Levi’s back. “It any good?”

“Looks like it.” It was still sealed and a better brand than Levi usually bought for himself. Realizing that he forgot to grab a condom, he was about to brave the drawer again when Eren tugged him back to the center of the bed.

“Then come on.” It was then that Levi noticed that Eren had shed his boxer shorts while he’d been fetching the lube. “Taking too long,” the brat complained while reclining back on the bed.

While dressed up in Levi’s clothes, it was easy to think of Eren as being almost delicate, but he was in good proportion for his height; he had long legs and some breadth to his shoulders, a bit of muscle definition to his chest and abdomen. It was almost a shame he didn’t have any real height to him, though it would be a pain to deal with a taller lover.

The flush to Eren’s golden skin deepened. “You’re staring.”

It wasn’t often that Levi paid anyone a compliment, mostly because he was horrid at it. “Those other assholes were fucking mental to want you any way other than you are.”

Eren was quiet for a moment, making him think he’d fucked it up again, and then smiled. “Come here, old man.” He used those long legs of his to hook his feet around Levi’s hips and urge him forward.

“What about the condoms? There should be-“ Levi’s thoughts got derailed as Eren’s legs wrapped around his hips. “Fuck.”

“Yeah, trying to do that.” The brat sounded a bit annoyed at the moment.

Levi gave him a cool look as he snatched at one of the discarded pillows. “If you’re in such a hurry….” In all honesty, he was all for speeding things up, he was so hard it was difficult to think. As soon as the pillow was shoved beneath Eren’s hips, he rocked back a little and cracked open the bottle of lube.

Once his fingers were slick, he ran his left hand along Eren’s thigh, unsurprised when the brat parted his legs wider with that slight urging. It only took a little rubbing around the tight hole before his finger slide inside, prompting a low moan from Eren.

“What, no self-lube,” Levi teased as he leaned forward and wrapped his left hand around Eren’s hard cock. “Guess that’s just a shifter rumor.”

A heel kicked him on the back. “Ha. Ha.” Dark strands clung to Eren’s forward and he arched his neck as another finger was added. “Ah!”

The sense of that wild magic intensified and pressed against Levi until it was almost difficult to breathe. It didn’t help that Eren looked gorgeous before him, body writhing on the bed as Levi’s fingers sunk into him, low moans and broken gasps sounding so sweet. Eren’s body seemed to open up to him, so warm and inviting that he was so on edge with needing to just pull out his fingers and-

Hands latched onto his head and yanked him down onto a fervent kiss, one that had him swallowing a ragged gasp of Eren’s. “Do it now,” Eren pleaded as their lips parted.

“But-“

“Fine, it’s fine. Need you now.” It felt as if Eren’s magic was all around Levi, almost a protective spell of its own, and he nearly snarled when he rocked back so he could yank down his boxers and free his own cock.

By now it was slick with the precum that had soaked the front of his boxers, but he managed to squeeze out some more lube – shit, half the damn bottle, the duvet was going to be fucking trashed after this – and slick it up proper before falling back onto Eren. There was a brief flash of a better way of doing things, of… oh fuck it, this was happening. Now.

Eren was like a damn monkey, arms and legs wrapping around him and pulling him in, magic all around Levi and then he lined up and *fuck*. *Fuck*. Nothing had prepared him for this, for the heat and the friction and fuck. He shuddered as he rocked all the way inside, Eren so damn tight yet sucking him in, hips lifted up to meet his so he didn’t stop until he was balls deep.

“Fuck.”

“Don’t, don’t, don’t stop,” Eren moaned, eyes closed and hands once more in Levi’s hair. “More, please more.”

If the brat wanted more, Levi was all for giving him more; he braced himself with his left hand on the wall and began to thrust, slowly at first and then with more speed as Eren moved with him, still wrapped around him as if to keep him from pulling away – as if Levi would do such an insane thing. When he reached down to start stroking Eren’s half-hard cock in time to his thrusts, Eren’s back arched off of the bed and that incredible tightness increased. Levi thought something inside of him would burst from the intense pleasure coursing inside of him, yet each thrust, each burn of friction only made it stronger, harsher, made the magic press harder against him until he felt as if he was drowning from it all.

“Don’… don’….” Eren was gasping beneath him, one hand digging into his shoulder and another splayed against his chest, neck arched and skin damp from sweat. Levi hunched down to brush their lips together, and the shift in position caused Eren to groan out his name while digging his nails into Levi’s shoulder. “Ah! Levi!”

Still hunched over, Levi gasped himself as the pleasure spiked and twisted inside of him, as it felt as if the emotion was hollowing out everything inside of him from its intensity until finally it burst forth. He shuddered as he came, teeth biting back on a moan and spots dancing before his eyes, and over the rushing of his own blood he heard Eren cry out as if from afar. Something warm spurted onto his hand as Eren tensed up around and beneath him, but at the moment he was too exhausted to care.

He blinked a few times and realized that Eren had come as well, now a boneless figure beneath him splattered with come, while Levi loomed over him supported by the wall. The sense of magic in the room had lessened a little, enough so it wasn’t as overwhelming as it had been before, and just then Levi wanted more than anything to sleep. Then he realized that his right hand was covered with come and he was sweaty as well, not to mention slick in certain spots, and there was the filthy duvet to consider.

“Oi, you still alive?” He wiped his hand on the duvet before he prodded Eren in the side; between Eren’s sudden breath and him rocking back, his cock slipped free and prompted a round of hisses from them both. Oh yeah, they definitely needed a clean duvet now.

“… maybe?” Eren clutched at his head as if it bothered him. “Ooooh, talk about overload.” Oddly enough, he didn’t seem to have any problem sitting up; Levi was about to ask him about his ass considering… well, considering, and then he remembered about a shifter’s healing ability.

“Come on, let’s wash off. I’m not going back to bed like this.” He hauled Eren onto his feet then yanked him toward the attached bathroom. Despite, well, everything they’d just done, it still felt good, the simple contact of touching the brat.

Eren must have felt the same because he leaned against Levi while waiting for the water to warm up in the shower. “Hmm, that was good.” He appeared ready to fall asleep at any moment.

“Damn right it was.” Levi wasn’t about to admit that ‘it’ was basically his first time.

Something, either his tone or his emotions – shit, he was not happy about the whole emotion thing – made Eren cast a baleful look his way. “What, because I’m a shifter?”

Levi clicked his tongue as he shoved an idiot brat beneath the now warm water. “No, because I’m the ‘great’ Levi.”

That startled a laugh from his… fuck, his lover, right? That took some getting used to, but if he was in this deep, might as well enjoy the benefits, no? “Should have seen that one coming.” Eren pushed aside the wet bangs falling onto his face and smiled up at Levi. “I’ll give it to you this time.”

“Oh, you’ll give it to me more than this time,” Levi drawled as he joined Eren in the shower.

That earned him another laugh as an armful of wet and sleepy shifter rested against him. “Fine, long as you wash my back, oh ‘great’ Levi.”

That didn’t seem like a bad offer, so Levi gave in with graciousness – at least that way, he knew the brat would be clean.

*******

Feeling the magic calm down for the night, Hange decided it was time to head off to bed; dammit, she really should have tried better to set up that ‘succubus’ circle - she could power a ward for a least a year with all of the magical energy that had been pouring out of the bedroom! Ah well, it wasn’t as if it would be a one-time thing, she was willing to bet. Nope, not with the way those two were acting together, and the fact that no one had come slinking out of the room yet to do a walk of shame.

Which was good, because not only did she need them to stay together long enough to set up that circle, but for her to get physical proof that Levi was in a sexual relationship with another man since she couldn’t call up anyone at the moment because of Eren. She’d better keep her phone on hand and hope for another ‘floor thing’ to happen soon.

And, well, there was the fact that Eren seemed good for Levi. It was about time the grumpy bastard caught a break, not to mention a real cute boyfriend.

She wondered if Levi would be upset about a celebratory ‘so you finally popped your cherry’ cake with dinner tomorrow…. Balloons were probably out, darn it. A new mug, maybe?

*******

“Pour a bit more energy into the ward.”

Eren grunted to show Levi that he heard the command, his eyes closed and most of his attention focused on the bit of magic he *mostly* had under his control; over the years, he’d always left this up to Mikasa or Armin since they had wards down pat, and then never had really stayed in one location long enough to bother with setting them up. They were tricky things, but he thought he’d finally got the hang of them.

“Ow!” He flinched at the light flick to his left ear and nearly lost hold of the magic.

“Focus, and don’t pour in that much energy,” Levi ordered, his emotions a mix of annoyance and amusement.

Grumbling beneath his breath, Eren struggled with both his thoughts and the energy until at least the latter flowed smoothly into the magical barrier he’d set up around the two of them. After a few seconds, it seemed as if something ‘clicked’ into place and there was another ‘flick’, this time a bare brush of fingers against the tip of his nose.

“Dammit, why do you do that?” he whined as he opened his eyes.

“It gets your attention.” Dressed in a black sweater and blue jeans, Levi sat across from him on the floor, arms crossed over his chest and a bland expression on his face. “Not bad for your fifth try.”

Eren scoffed at that as he rubbed at his nose with the overlong sleeve of his – well, Levi’s – dark grey sweater; there were the sweatshirts that Hange had bought for him, but for some reason he felt more comfortable wearing Levi’s hand-me-downs. “Maybe if I had a better teacher I’d learn faster.”

It was Levi’s turn to scoff. “You little shit, you have the best one out there – you want Hange to take over these lessons?” When Eren thought back to the mess that had been him learning the plague spell and shook his head frantic enough to make his neck sore, Levi clicked his tongue. “Thought so.”

The truth of it was, Levi wasn’t that bad of a teacher, the occasional flicks and swats aside. Sure, he was gruff and a bit stinting on the praise, but Eren responded well to his magic, especially after this morning. Refusing to blush as he thought about it, Eren reached out to ‘feel’ the wall of magic he’d just summoned. “So I’ll be able to block out people now?”

“Anyone who can’t tear down your magic, or who’s not ‘programmed’ to get through the ward.” A slight smile graced Levi’s handsome face when his hand slipped past the ward. “It can be a bit tricky, setting up those exceptions, so it’s best to just focus on building them up for now as strong as possible for your own protection and worry about the difficult stuff later.”

It figured that Levi could get through it – he was hellaciously strong, after all, but Eren didn’t feel him batter at the ward, it was more an… acceptance on the ward’s part. Even his own magic gave in to the man.

Feeling a bit tired from the morning’s lessons after everything that had happened so far that day, he sighed and slumped forward until he rested against Levi; he felt Levi’s body stiffen for a couple of seconds, and then Levi slowly relaxed as his arms came up to wrap around Eren. “’m tired.”

“What, you telling me a couple of easy spells wore you out? Such a baby.” Fingers slid through Eren’s hair and gave the strands a gentle tug.

“’m not a baby,” he insisted. “You’re a slave driver.” The feel of both Levi’s magic and arms around him was much too comforting, especially after so long of being on his own.

Levi snorted once, the sound soft and derisive, as he tugged again on Eren’s hair. “You’re definitely a baby, and a spoiled one at that. I had to ward the whole damn house for my first time, and that was after learning an offensive spell that can force a were to shift.”

“Eh?” Eren twisted about enough so he could look up at Levi. “Why would you want to learn that?”

The necromancer kept toying with Eren’s hair as he shrugged and stared off through the distance, his emotions a little distant just then. “It can really mess them up – forcing a shift when they’re not ready is supposed to be painful as fuck and throws them off mentally, so it gives you a few seconds to either run or launch an attack. Plus, if they’re hiding in a crowd and you don’t know who they are….” He arched his left eyebrow as he gazed down at Eren. “See where I’m going?”

“Huh.” Eren chewed on his bottom lip as he scooted a little closer. “Wonder if that spell would work on me.”

Levi’s hand left Eren’s hair to reach for the mug of tea he’d set aside. “To do what? You don’t have a default animal or hybrid form, so at best it might work if you’re shifted into something else.”

“True.” Eren shrugged as he let his head rest back against Levi’s shoulder. “Maybe later we can go outside and try it out? I can shift into my main attack form and we’ll see if I return to normal.” He wondered if he’d gain back his missing inches, but had a feeling he was stuck like this as long as Levi was around.

His idea got him a poke to his left ribs. “Hey!”

“Don’t go tearing up my clothes, brat.” Levi scowled at him over the rim of the mug. “We’ll borrow one of Hange’s robes for you to wear before we go outside.” There was a hint of jealousy beneath the curiosity and desire.

“Funny, you were all for tearing stuff up stuff this-“ Eren blinked in surprise as he found himself flat on his back with Levi hovering over him. “Ah, why do we always end up on the floor?”

The stern expression on his… lover’s? face lasted for about all of three seconds it changed into something disgusted. “The fuck all I know, and Hange’s floor at that.” Levi made a choking sound as he rocked back onto his knees and pulled Eren onto his lap. “Better?”

That hadn’t been exactly what he was going for, but Eren found himself unwilling to complain at the moment. “Yeah,” he whispered as he slid his arms over Levi’s broad shoulders. “Especially since Han-“ He raised his eyebrows over the fact that Levi’s hand was now covering his mouth.

“Don’t say it, or else you summon… *it*,” he hissed.

“Okay.” Yeah, she should be back at some point from running out for whatever stuff she was hunting down. Smiling a little, Eren waggled his brows as he leaned in close. “I’m taller than you for once.”

Levi rolled his eyes as he gave a smack to Eren’s ass. “You’re on my fucking lap, you brain-dead brat.”

“Still, how does it feel to look up at me, hmm? *Shorty*?”

Levi didn’t reply at first, just looked *up* at Eren with eyes that gained a hint of silver. The next thing Eren knew, the world heaved around him and he was tossed over Levi’s shoulder as they hustled through his first official ward. “Where are we going?”

“To a level playing field, so to speak.” There was a roughness to Levi’s voice that startled Eren, enough that it took him a moment to realize that they were headed to the spare bedroom; a ward went up around the room the same time that the door shut behind them. Before he could get out a proper complaint, the world spun around him again and he ended up landing on the bed.

He just got his hands beneath him to push up a little when Levi crawled on top of him. “So, ready to make any ‘short’ jokes now, hmm?” Levi appeared calm, but there was still a hint of silver in his eyes and that roughness to his voice, along with a return of the tumultuous desire that had swamped Eren earlier that morning.

Forcing a swallow past a throat gone tight, Eren summoned up a shaky smile. “You going to rip my shirt this time?”

“You want me to?”

He had to take a few seconds to consider his answer. “Uhm, no?” Not when he had so few to begin with, unfortunately.

“Then raise your fucking arms so I can take it off.”

Eren hurried to do what he’d been told, and swore that the asshole smirked before the shirt was jerked over his head. Levi was quick to shed his sweater as well, and then it was the feel of skin and magic pressing against him, the rush of desire and something almost sharp and painful but yet so sweet. Eren groaned as he laid back on the bed with Levi following him down, and wondered why this seemed more important than learning spells or running as far away as possible. Yet all that mattered was the feel of Levi’s magic and emotions entwining with his own, of Levi’s lips brushing along his neck and Levi’s weight pressing down on him.

There was some noise outside of the room, a crashing sound and a yelp of distress while Eren felt something press against his magic. He broke off the kiss with a gasp as Hange’s irate voice rang out.

“Dammit, who put a ward up in my living room? Eren? I can’t get to my bedroom!”

“Sho-should I oooh lower it?” Eren’s hips jerked upward as Levi began to undo the zipper of his jeans.

“No, less chances of us being interrupted.” A slight but decidedly evil smirk settled on Levi’s face as he tugged the jeans from Eren’s hips, his emotions just as wicked, so Eren just let his head fall back onto the bed and figured Hange was stuck for the time being before he let Levi’s emotions and pleasing touches obliterate any logical thought.

*******

“So what is it like to see dead people?”

Levi grunted and tugged on a strand of Eren’s bangs, which prompted the brat to nudge his chin deeper into Levi’s chest; they were sprawled out on the bed, sans duvet, Levi propped up by the pillows with Eren sprawled out on top of him.

“What’s it like to be the human equivalent to play-do?”

Eren seemed to consider the question while his right hand skimmed up and down the side of Levi’s bare chest. “Hmm, don’t know if I can put it into the right words – it was as if I always felt trapped when I was a kid, as if my skin was always itchy or too tight or something, and then when my talent hit everything was finally right.” He closed his eyes for a moment and smiled, the expression almost dreamy. “My body was *finally* right. It doesn’t hurt when I shift, I don’t understand it when people say how it affects were like that, but for me… my body just *flows*. I’m still me, but sometimes the emotions are sharper, stronger, especially if I’m fighting.”

Levi gave the chocolate dark strands another tug. “Maybe because you’re surrounded by a bunch of nasty shitstains, huh?” He clicked his tongue when the brat had the audacity to grin. “Yeah, thought so. To answer your question, I’m not sure when I noticed the dead people, it’s the first part of my talent that kicked in and it was when I was pretty young.” He paused for a moment as the memories resurfaced, yet having Eren here and feeling the shifter’s magic helped to center him. “Wasn’t in the best of places, then, so guess I was used to seeing fucked up people. Just knew, somehow, they couldn’t hurt me so it didn’t matter.”

“Hmm.” And just like that, Eren seemed to accept that Levi’d been the weird as shit kid who’d seen ghosts, that he was a necromancer. “Must have been nice, to always have somebody around like that if you wished.”

“Brat… *Eren*, you are one touched….” Levi shook his head as he flicked his lover in the forehead.

“What was that for?” Eren pouted as he pulled away a little, his brows furrowed and eyes flashing with annoyance.

“For being you,” was Levi’s retort, even as he yanked Eren back, his hands roaming over the soft material of the sweater – Levi’s sweater – Eren had put back on after they washed off. He smiled a little as he shook his head again. “Your ward went down, you know.”

Eren made a happy sound as he resettled on Levi’s chest. “Yeah, I… sorta lost concentration there.” His eyes narrowed as he poked Levi in the ribs. “Someone made me lose concentration.”

Levi scoffed as he smacked him on the ass. “Don’t give me that shit, you need to learn to hold a ward through worse than that. Later you’ll cast it again.” Though not in Hange’s living room, since she’d bitch up a storm if they kept blocking her from half of the house.

“Such a slave driver.”

“Damn right - you want to be captured?” When Eren whined and shook his head, Levi grunted and gave him another smack. “Though not.”

“This is ridiculous,” the brat complained. “Why do they even want me so badly in the first place? Just to make it easier to cast some spells and… well.” He rubbed at his eyes with his left hand. “Just doesn’t make sense.”

That was life for you. Levi sighed as he mussed his lover’s soft, tangled hair. “People always want something that’ll give them any advantage, and the rarer it is, the better.” And if they thought someone had more power than them? It was to be eliminated, something the Ackermans had learned the hard way through the centuries.

“It’s just, am I really worth it?” Eren rested his chin on his clenched fist and stared up at Levi, his expression serious and a little forlorn. “Am I worth my mom dying? My friends losing everything so they can keep me safe? You losing your home?”

That last question earned him another smack. “I told you, stop obsessing over the damn house!” Levi huffed as he wrapped his arms around Eren. “I’ve been running from those assholes a hell of a longer than you have, so I knew it was only a matter of time until I’d have to move on again.”

“Would’ve been longer if it hadn’t been for me,” Eren grumbled.

Oh, Isabel would love this – someone just as stubborn as him, Levi thought to himself. “Are you listening to me? Because if not, I can send some spirits into that empty head of yours to clean out the cobwebs.”

Eren blinked at the threat before he first shook his head, seemed to consider the action and then nodded.

“Good, because if you mention the damn house again, I *will* do that.” Levi bared his teeth for a moment before sighing. “Now, what’s for dinner?” Or should it be more like lunch? How long had they been in here? He just knew that he was getting hungry.

The brat appeared to ponder the question for about a minute. “There was some chicken in fridge.”

“Gah, Hange’s probably planning on doing something horrible with salmonella.” Levi grimaced as he wiped at his face. “One day she’s going to unleash a virus to wipe out most of the world.”

“Still, don’t see why we shouldn’t enjoy some roast chicken until she does.”

That did sound good. “Just make sure you cook it properly,” Levi warned. “I’m not going to spend the night shitting out my guts thanks to one of Hange’s special germfests.”

It was Eren’s turn to grimace. “Thanks for the visual.”

“Hey, you weren’t there when she unleashed a nasty strain of dysentery on these pricks who thought they could take us down since it was three to one. They were begging for death within five minutes.” Of course Levi was happy to help them out.

“Not what I want to be hearing when I’m going to be dealing with food,” Eren scolded as he glared up at Levi.

“Yeah, but I bet you wash your hands a lot now.” Levi counted that as a victory when Eren groaned and attempted to poke him again in the ribs. “Thought so.”

“I always wash my-“ Eren went still as a powerful sense of magic approached – one Levi knew well and was cause for a curse to slip free as he hustled Eren to the side before he leapt from the bed.

“This an attack?”

“Sorta.” Levi glanced over and saw how Eren’s hands began to shift and cursed again. “Fuck, I didn’t mean it like that – Hange and I know this bastard,” he explained as he snatched up the sweater lying at the foot of the bed and ran out the bedroom door. “It’s why he’s getting through the wards.”

Eren didn’t bother with grabbing any pants, but then again, he was a shifter, he probably figured if there was a chance of him changing forms, no sense in tearing up the clothes. Both of them hit the living room right about the same time that Hange was opening the front door to let Erwin inside.

“Erwin! Wow, this is a surprise, you’re rarely in this neck of the woods! You get lost or something?” Hange’s smile was a bit tense as she stepped aside to allow their friend access to the house.

“Not quite. I was wondering if you knew where Levi was, and can see that you do.” He stilled, his hands paused in unbuttoning his fancy trench coat, as he caught sight of Levi and Eren; his blue eyes were wide and his thick eyebrows rose up in surprise. “Are they…?”

“Yes!” Appearing pleased now, Hange pumped her left fist in the air and did a few odd steps as if dancing. “Yes they are!” Then she held out her right hand in an expectant manner.

While Levi watched on in a growing suspicion, Erwin sighed and reached inside his coat to pull out his wallet, then started counting out a large amount of bills. “Dammit, I’m rarely wrong about these things,” he complained.

“You can bitch about it in hell,” Levi ground out as he stalked forward, with Eren close on his heels. “Did you shitstains bet on me?”

Hange was quick to shove the money into the back pocket of her jeans and offer him a nervous smile. “Now come on, Grumpy, we bet on a lot of things! The pot on Mike getting ringworm is 7:1!”

“Hange’s not allowed to bet on that one,” Erwin murmured, and then his gaze narrowed in what appeared to be anger. “However, I’m not here to check in on any new romantic updates, but to find out what’s going on.” He finished unbuttoning the trench to reveal an equally expensive dark blue suit beneath. “I stopped by your house, Levi, only to find it burned to the ground.”

Great, so much for hoping that this was about Hange raiding any and all libraries in the vicinity, Levi thought a he ran his left hand through his hair, his fingers digging into his scalp for a moment. “Go grab some pants,” he ordered Eren. “Then meet us in the kitchen.”

For a moment it looked as if Eren would resist, and then he nodded before turning around; the sweater barely covered his boxer-clad ass, which prompted a whistle from Hange. Levi gave her a scowl for the harassment and got a too-innocent look in return. “Kitchen, now.”

“Yes sir!” Hange snapped off an insolent salute before sauntering away, leaving Levi to wonder why he hadn’t made better friends. Seriously? This was his best choice when in need?

At least she was putting on fresh water on for tea, so he decided she would live for now.

Erwin draped his coat over the back of one of the chairs and sat down, his body too tense for things to be played off as a social visit. “So, does your… boyfriend? Does he have anything to do with the loss of your house?”

Nothing like getting to the heart of the matter, that was Erwin Smith for you.

“Yeah, and enough about the damn house.” Levi pulled on the sweater before he leaned against the counter, not in the mood to sit down since he doubted this would be that civil of a discussion. He waited until Eren entered the kitchen fully dressed and shook his head when he noticed that the brat was headed for the fridge. “Really?”

“Well, you said you were hungry – unless we’re leaving after this, might as well get some food on, right?” When Levi didn’t argue otherwise, Eren nodded once and continued fetching the ingredients to make roast chicken.

“Eren’s a pretty good cook,” Hange informed Erwin as she put on some coffee. “He’s also a shifter.”

That was one way to break the news, Levi supposed, and was amused to see Erwin’s eyebrows shoot up once more.

“A shifter?” He studied Eren, who was busy washing his hands after grabbing a roasting pan. “I can’t tell – his magic is too wrapped up in Levi’s to get a clear read.”

“Oh yeah, they’ve been ‘wrapped’ up together a-“

Levi put one of the souls which always hovered around Hange’s house to good use and shook the blood witch’s chair to get her to shut up. “Thought I told you to butt out, didn’t I?”

Her eyes went almost comically wide as she sniffed. “But I’m-“

“Being a pain in the ass, so shut it.”

“So mean you are.”

“What else is new?”

Erwin cleared his throat in a loud and exaggerated manner as he got up to fetch a mug and then waited by the brewing coffee. “If the both of you are finished behaving like children, I’d like an explanation.” He nodded at Eren, who was in the process of cleaning various vegetables before placing them around the chicken. “I’m Erwin Smith, by the way. It’s a pleasure to meet someone as unique as yourself.” He bowed as he spoke, a quick dip of the head.

Eren eyed him with some trepidation before turning to Levi. “I can’t figure out what he is.”

“Mage, mostly, but he has some demon blood from a couple of generations back so I call him an evil bastard even though his parents were married.” The kettle started boiling just then so Levi reached around the stunned brat so he could pour the hot water into the teapot; he found it amusing that Eren had no problem with him being a necromancer and mostly took Hange’s weird talent in stride, but was currently eyeing Erwin as if he’d burst into hellfire at any moment.

Erwin cleared his throat again, a pained expression on his face. “Yes, well, I hardly think you’re one to talk about family history, Levi.” He ignored the glare sent his way and resumed smiling at Eren, who was busy preparing the chicken. “My bloodline might be a bit exotic, but nothing compared to yours.”

That earned him a glare from Eren as well, who took an anxious few steps from Levi’s side so he could place their dinner in the oven before scurrying back. “I don’t understand what’s the big deal about me. So I can change shape and stuff.”

“There’s also the fact that he’s some sort of ‘key’,” Hange offered up. “Eren’s father mentioned that to him, and no, I haven’t found anything about that yet.” She nodded when Erwin held up the empty coffee mug. “Though I just started looking, to be honest.”

“I think you need to tell me the story from the beginning – all I know is that two days ago, Mike and I came across a were from the Trost pack sniffing around where she shouldn’t be and when we attempted to question her, she attacked as if she had no choice. Mike thought she smelled as if she’d been placed under geas, so I figured that I’d check up on Levi to see if he knew of anything going on. That or if he might have been her objective.” Erwin paused to pour the just-brewed coffee. “Imagine my surprise when I arrived to find nothing but ashes at what used to be his home.”

Levi snaked his arm around Eren’s waist and gave his right hip a warning squeeze when the house was brought up. “Eren and I ran into each other in Karanese, when I was there to check up on Petra.” He caught the way Erwin’s eyes narrowed for a moment, but tough shit; it hadn’t been that long ago when Olou had died and Levi wanted to make sure his friend was doing all right. “Literally ran into each other, and….” Hange’s sniggering just then didn’t help. “There was something about his magic so I dragged him back home.”

“Bet there was,” Hange muttered, sotto voice. Warning looks from both Levi and Erwin had her gulping down enough coffee to shut her up.

Levi returned his attention to Erwin once the pest was back under control and shrugged. “You can see how determined they were to get their hands on the brat. We got rid of everyone sent after him and I did a better job of covering our tracks when we came to Hange’s.”

Erwin gazed at him – no, at him and Eren, his blue eyes deepening to an azure glow after a few seconds. “I have to admit, I didn’t sense any trace of you between your place and here, so yes, you did a much better job. I also didn’t sense you until I got into the house, though I have to wonder if it’s because of the wards and the protection spells or if there’s something going on with your magic. It’s… your ‘contact’ with Eren has changed it somehow.”

“Huh?” Levi scowled as he used his talent to summon a spirit to him; it responded just as easily as always, if not easier, while beside him Eren squirmed about as if nervous. “Nothing’s changed, I can still control things and sense the dead. Been casting spells all damn day, too, while teaching them to Eren.”

Erwin sat down at the table with his mug held between his hands and shook his head. “I’m not saying that you’re weaker, just that your magic feels a bit different. Perhaps if you and Eren separated a bit, it would feel the same again.”

“I’m not doing anything to him,” Eren insisted as he took a step forward.

“I didn’t say you did, just that there’s been a change and it’s best to be certain about these things under the current circumstances.” Erwin turned toward Hange. “I’m surprised you didn’t notice it yourself.”

“Well, Eren arrived all wrapped up in Levi’s spells and then Levi-“

Eren stalked forward and slapped his hands down on the table. “I didn’t do anything!” He shouted as his eyes flashed a pure gold. “And neither did Levi! Stop talking!” There was a flare of magic, of that wild, energizing force Levi recognized as Eren’s, though now there was a chill of something cool, something darker entwined with it which Levi took as his own, and then the table trembled as a creaking sound filled the room. Erwin’s eyes shone blue and Hange let out a yelp as thick tendrils shot out from the table as if it had suddenly come alive, tendrils that stopped once they hit the wall of spirits Levi summoned in a desperate haste.

“Stop it!” he hissed as he wrapped his arms around Eren’s waist and yanked him away from the piece of furniture turned impromptu weapon. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“I… I don’t know!” Eren stared at his hands in shock, his eyes mostly back to normal except now they were wide pools of black surrounded by a rim of turquoise. “I just – that never – what is it?”

“I think that’s probably an example of you being a ‘key’,” Hange remarked as she poked at a waving tendril, only to yelp again as it lashed at her. “Shifters are able to draw heavily on the life force around them, that’s why you have a healing factor on overdrive and can shift into shapes impossible for other were. I’d say at the very least, you can do what others can’t and channel that life force in ways impossible even for earth mages – you basically just reanimated something that was dead.” She grinned at them and gave them a thumb’s up. “Aw man, now I need a new cup of coffee.” She didn’t seem too concerned about her kitchen table being turned into… well, some sort of cross between a slab of wood and an octopus.

Erwin pinched the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache. “It’s the last item which I feel has some bearing on our previous discussion.” He waved his hand through the air in front of one of the tentacles. “Levi, touch the table with your magic.”

“Huh?” Levi didn’t see why he was being drawn into this shit, but he recognized that look on Erwin’s face and knew he wouldn’t get any peace until he gave in. Giving Eren’s waist a squeeze, he let go. “Don’t go stirring up any new shit, brat.”

“I didn’t mean to stir it up in the first place,” Eren muttered as he stepped aside.

“Right.” Levi let out a slow breath and approached the table, which for some reason didn’t attempt to attack him. “What am I supposed to do here?”

Erwin’s brows drew together as he watched the tentacles for a few seconds. “Will them to go away.”

Yeah, like that was helpful. Levi gave him a nasty look for being so vague as he set his hands on the table, his magic summoned but… yeah, his thoughts focused on wanting this nonsense to end. He had to eat at some point today, since breakfast had been hours ago and damn if he was going to do so in Hange’s living room.

The table continued to tremble for several heartbeats as the tentacles writhed about as if in hopes of latching on to Erwin and Hange, and then…. Then the new growths crumbled upon themselves like ash until the table was back to how it had been, save a hell of a lot messier. “Nasty,” Levi remarked as he dusted off his hands. “Oi, shitty glasses, wipe up this mess.”

“After I save a few samples, Grumpy.” Hange scurried over to a drawer to pull out what looked to be a couple of petri dishes. “That was *fascinating*.”

Eren approached the table and would have run his fingers through the ash if Levi didn’t snatch at his hand to pull it away. “So what, Levi can negate my magic?”

“No, I think it’s a matter of yin/yang.” Erwin went to fetch a new mug as well and of course kept them waiting to find out what the hell *that* meant until he had more coffee. “I think I understand why the Reiss organization is so upset that you swooped up their prize, Levi.”

“By all means, keep it to yourself, EB.” Levi figured the tea had steeped way too long by that point and went to pour some for himself and Eren.

As usual, the nickname wrung a weary sigh from Erwin, but prodded him to hurry up with the explanation. “While I’m certain that they weren’t pleased that a powerful mage like yourself got your hands on what they wanted first – my apologies, Eren, for talking about you as if you’re an item and not a person – it’s the fact that you’re a very powerful *necromancer* that set them off to the point they attacked you on your own ground.” He shook his head, a slight smile on his lips. “Not their brightest decision.”

“Why is the fact that Levi’s a necromancer so important?” Eren frowned until Levi handed him a mug of tea.

“As I said, it’s almost like yin and yang.” Erwin gazed at Eren for a moment before shifting his attention to Levi. “You said you ‘had to drag’ Eren back with you. His magic drew you to him, yes?”

The question made Levi uncomfortable, but Erwin usually had a point to shit like this. “Yes.”

“Ah. And Eren, is there a reason that you went along with Levi?”

The brat squirmed beside him. “Well… somehow I knew I could trust him. And yeah, his magic was… yeah.”

Erwin appeared much too smug just then, while Hange was humming what sounded to be the ‘Wedding March’ as she collected her samples. “I imagine that was your empathy kicking in. As for your relationship, I suppose it’s this sense of attraction due to the trust and the magic that helped speed things along?” When Levi glowered over the rim of his mug and Eren turned to hide his face against Levi’s shoulder, Erwin’s smugness went up a notch. “Indeed.”

“You enjoying yourself, you sick bastard?”

Erwin waved aside the insult as he sipped his coffee. “I don’t mean to be intrusive, honest. However, the answers just prove my hypothesis. Levi. Though explaining it as yin/yang is too simplistic, it is a way of saying complimentary forces.”

If it wasn’t for Eren pressed against his side and the fact that he owed the smug bastard a huge favor, Erwin would be missing a couple of vital organs right about now. “You calling me a woman?”

Hange paused in the middle of cleaning up the table. “Is that supposed to be an insult?” Her eyes took to glowing red as she pulled her glasses down her nose to gaze at him.

Levi combed through his bangs and shook his head. “No, it’s just that I’m not the passive woman in this rela-“ He stopped when he felt the prick of claws against his side and looked over to find Eren staring at him with golden eyes and sharp teeth bared. “Never mind, continue,” he told Erwin.

Oh yes, definitely a smug bastard now. “As I was saying, it’s not an ideal explanation, but it’s the *complementary* yet *mirrored* nature that I’m striving for here. Eren is a shifter and tied to the life force in a way we don’t quite understand. Levi is a necromancer and so tied to death. Both are very powerful, magical beings, and while most would assume their natures would be repelled by the other….” Erwin shrugged as he set his mug aside and threaded the fingers of hands together. “It’s a known fact that you can’t have light without shadow, cold without warmth, and life without death. Perhaps in the past shifters and necromancers were always drawn together like this, but shifters are born so rarely now and the most powerful necromancers are sought out and destroyed.” He cast a sorrowful look Levi’s way before picking up his mug. After another pause for a sip, he nodded. “The last thing Reiss wants is for the two of you to grow more powerful together, or for you to ruin their chances of gaining control over Eren.”

“Tough shit.” Organizations like Reiss had made his life little better than a living hell, so Levi was more than happy to mess up their plans in any way he could. That he did so with Eren was icing on the cake, as they said. “Like I’ll lose any sleep over it.”

Eren stirred from his side and held up his left hand, which now sported claws. “So you’re saying that what, it’s because of Levi my magic is acting this way?”

Hange paused in her cleaning to look at Erwin, who frowned into his mug. “I’m just saying that being with Levi is influencing both of your magics; I have only the most rudimentary ideas about you being a ‘key’ and don’t believe Levi has much effect on that other than to possibly offer some means of control.” He looked up to gaze upon Eren. “I do have to wonder if there’s a reason why the two of you crossed paths like you did.”

“What, like fate?” Eren scoffed at that. “Whatever.”

Erwin arched an eyebrow as he glanced at Levi. “Twenty-nine,” Levi answered the unspoken question.

“Ah, that explains it. Wait until you pass your first century and then tell me you don’t believe in fate, Eren.”

Eren looked about to wave aside that declaration, only to sigh and run his fingers through his hair. “This is… it’s just too much.” He slumped against Levi, a warm, magical bundle almost without bones. “Each time I think things can’t get any weirder, they do. I’m tired of running. I’m tired of people looking at me as if I’m a thing. I’m… I’m just tired.”

Hange made weird hand gestures to Levi until he wrapped his arms around the brat. “We’re working on the running thing,” he told him, which earned him something muffled from Eren and an approving smile from Hange.

“Yep, I’ve an arsenal of spells I’m just itching to unleash on those bastards, and there’s no way Levi’s gonna let anyone take his boyfriend away. Now that Erwin’s here, we’ve got the backing of a real army at our disposal, right!” She slapped her ash-covered hand on Erwin’s fine wool-covered arm, and he had the grace to merely smile in acknowledgement.

“’Army’ might be stretching things, but we are a rather impressive force.” He nodded to Levi. “I prefer to choose my battles, but this is a worthy one. It’s also one I believe we’re going to have to fight sooner rather than later.”

It better well damn be – if Reiss or anyone else got their hands on someone like Eren, it would be nightmare for everyone else. “So honored you see it that way,” Levi drawled.

Erwin was quiet as he gave Levi an assessing look, then shook his head. “And here I always believed that when the time came to take on Reiss and the other organizations like them which believe they can control our magic and cull amongst us at their whim, I’d have to drag you out to the forefront of the battlefield.” He shifted his gaze to Eren, who was still tucked against Levi’s side. “Fate indeed.”

That was a bit uncalled for – Levi had promised Erwin he’d fight in return for the favor all those years ago, though it was true that he wasn’t as active as some of the others. Still, now he had another reason to spur him on to fight – one that was poking him in the damn ribs. “What?”

The expression on Eren’s face just then was one of disappointment. “Wait, so you’re like a terrorist or something?”

“I wouldn’t-“

“Yep!” Hange cut him off before he could explain. “We fight for the freedom of all magical beings.” She paused in labeling the petri dishes to give Erwin a fisted salute. “Erwin’s our mighty leader.”

“I don’t know about the ‘mighty’ part,” Levi muttered as he rubbed at the back of his head. “And we’re not terrorists… not exactly.” Why was Eren frowning at him?

“Magical terrorists.” Eren’s nose wrinkled as if in disgust when he spoke. “No wonder they want to kill you all the time.” He folded his arms over his chest and *glared* at Levi.

“No, they want to kill me because I’m a necromancer.”

“A *magical terrorist* necromancer,” Eren corrected him. “Mikasa’s going to flip out when she meets you, I know it.”

It was official, Levi’s lover truly was brain-dead. “You know, anyone else would be shitting themselves over the ‘necromancer’ part, not that first bit,” Levi felt he had to point out. “And your sister is going to adore me.” Eren’s expression changed into one of extreme dubiousness. “Oh fuck off, you little shit.”

“Are they fighting?” Erwin’s whisper wasn’t quite quiet enough.

“I think it’s their version of foreplay – they start snarking at each other and then they hit the floor and oh, yeah, need to have my camera ready for the next bit, it’s really good,” Hange mock-whispered back.

Okay, maybe Levi was regretting abandoning and burning down his house quite a bit right now. “You’re seriously giving me shit for killing some assholes who think they can control who has magic?” he demanded as he yanked on the front of Eren’s borrowed sweater.

The brat’s glare melted into something more uncertain. “It’s just… that’s not how….” He shook his head as he grasped at Levi’s hand. “Everything’s all messed up anymore.”

It was a sentiment Levi was well familiar with these days. “I know the feeling.” He shifted his grip from the soft fabric to the silky strands at the nape of Eren’s neck. “Now stop spouting such bullshit before I really do use some spirits to clean out those cobwebs.”

That earned him a smile, one that lit up Eren’s lovely eyes and did weird things to Levi’s chest. He’d just rested his forehead against the brat’s when there was a painful sounding groan from the table.

“No!! Come on, I want to see some floor action! Give us some floor action!”

Only the fact that Erwin would object to losing one of his top fighters prevented Levi from summoning a revenant then and there. “How long until the food is ready?”

It might have been the angry bite to the words that caused Eren to pull back a little. “I need to start making a few other things in about forty-five minutes or so.”

“That’s fine.” Levi grabbed his left wrist and tugged him away from the counter. “We’re going to practice some spells for a bit.” When Hange gave him a knowing grin, he had a spirit bump her chair again. “*Practice spells*. Come anywhere near the bedroom, and you’re zombie chow.”

“But revenants aren’t-“

“Zombie. Chow.” Levi didn’t slow down as he stomped out of the room with Eren at his heels.

“Please tell me no more of your friends are going to show up any time soon.”

That dredged a chuckle from Levi as he all but shoved Eren into their bedroom. “I’m about to set up a wall of revenants to keep that from happening. Now come on, time to practice that ward again.” He had a feeling they’d need it to keep those two out come evening.

*******

Judging that the potion should have taken effect by now, Armin nodded to Mikasa, who stepped closer to the magically bound water mage. “What’s the last thing you heard about the shifter?” When he didn’t answer, she tightened the glowing white bonds around him until he groaned. “The shifter!”

The ruddy-faced man groaned, his sweat-soaked hair falling into his closed eyes as he attempted to resist the potion; Armin knew he must be in pain as the potion drove him on to break the geas binding him to silence but didn’t feel any sympathy, not for someone hunting down Eren. Eventually the potion won out, as he knew it would. “Kar-karanese,” the mage stuttered out, blood flying from his lips which he had bitten into in an attempt to remain silent.

Mikasa’s dark eyes narrowed upon hearing the name of the city but she otherwise remained still, while Armin gasped at the thought of how far away Eren had managed to run. “What about Karanese?” she asked as she tightened the bonds.

The mage struggled once more, only to groan in agony after a few seconds. “Wah-was spot-ted there.” He panted for a few seconds and shook his head, the sweat rolling down his face in fat drops, along with blood flowing down his chin. “Ah-almost caught.” As if weary beyond words, he forced his eyes open, his hazel eyes bloodshot. “Ah-all I know.”

Mikasa looked over her right shoulder at Armin, who nodded once; he knew his potions, and that this one was working despite the powerful geas on the mage. There was no way the mage could lie to them, so the information was correct. Without bothering to look back at the man, Mikasa rose up with a graceful sway and there was a snapping sound as the magical bindings broke the mage’s neck before fading away.

“We need to get to Karanese as soon as possible – I’m sure he’s gone by now, but at least it gives us a starting point to find his most recent trail.” She spoke with a rare hint of anger in her soft voice, no doubt at the thought of how far Eren could run in the amount of time it took them to get to the city – and how much trouble he could find himself in by then.

“He said ‘almost caught’,” Armin reminded his dear friend while he reached into his leather satchel for a potion that would render the dead mage into ash, which he then tossed onto the body. “One thing Eren’s very good at is slipping away.” There was some bitterness to that statement, as Armin’s right hand slid along to the healed wound on his left side, the wound that had caused Eren to leave them almost three years ago.

“Yes, but there’s been too many close calls lately from what we can tell.” Mikasa noticed, like she always did, and grasped Armin’s hand as she tugged him away from the disintegrating body. She never blamed him for what happened, for Eren leaving, instead focusing her anger and worry on those who sought to use and hurt her precious brother. “They’re really determined to catch him now, and….” She shook her head as they slipped back into the night.

And it didn’t seem to be just the major magic families and organizations this time, either. They had been lucky to finally run across the Reiss mage to question, since for the past month every lead they’d tracked down had turned up dead by the time they got there. Someone was hunting Eren, someone powerful and clever and very skilled at blending in, someone who had Mikasa worried to the point of tears for Eren. They needed to find him, and find him fast.

“We’ll get there in time,” Armin assured her and gave her hand a squeeze. “Now how about we head out to the East Side? I bet there’s a fast car there just waiting for us to steal it.”

Mikasa smiled at him as she hugged his hand to her chest. “Bet I can find a car and break in before you do.”

“You’re on.” Armin smiled back and laughed when she began to run, certain that this time, they were gaining ground on Eren.

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I debated how soon to get Levi and Eren together, to wait another chapter to build it up or not, but it made sense to me not to drag it out too long considering the nature and logic of this universe (that and I don't want this to be 20 chapters long). Lot of things going on and you will learn more about shifters and necromancers (especially shifters), but yes, Erwin did give a basic summary there of how they are drawn together. I'm not using the term 'soulmates' exactly, but but they are by their natures complimentary and so.... :-)


	3. Let me be that I am and seek not to alter me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you so much for the comments and kudos - really surprised and pleased with the response to this fic. Few more people are showing up in this chapter, which of course sets up things for the next couple to come (should be some fun times then!). Though I will be out of town next weekend so not sure if it'll be posted by next Sunday.

*******

It was a bit odd, finding a pattern to his days after spending over a decade on the run. Ever since Levi had taken him in, Eren would make breakfast and spend part of the morning cleaning, and now there was the addition of the magic lessons. It was a far cry from either being in constant motion or huddled somewhere as he waited for the danger to pass.

And now there was the fact that Levi was his lover, which not only meant having some sort of weird rhythm to his day but someone to share it with as well, someone to drag him out of bed and shove him toward the kitchen, to bitch at him to dust right and poke at him until he got the handle of wards.

It was… it was so *weird* and yet Eren found himself settling in with a happiness that was tinged with a sense of guilt that Mikasa and Armin weren’t here to share in with this rare sense of domesticity. Though yeah, *Mikasa*. Busy washing up the breakfast dishes, Eren shivered a little as he thought about how his sister would take to finding out that he not only had a lover, but that said lover was Levi – was someone a good bit older than him and didn’t have that reputable of a job. She’d been so overprotective of him the couple of times he’d tried to return someone’s interest, to the point that between her breathing down his neck and his own talent kicking in at the worst time that he’d given up on any chance on dating.

“You done yet?” The feel of Levi’s magic settled around him like a shadow on a hot day, cool and refreshing and an almost intense sense of relief.

“Hmm?” Eren shook water from the bowl in his hand and set it on the drying rack. “Just about.” He smiled at Levi as his lover poured a fresh cup of tea from a pot shaped like a skull. “So what’s on the agenda for today?”

“We’ll have you cast some wards outside – I want to see if you can do it while you’re shifted.” Levi paused to blow on the hot tea as he eyed Eren up and down, radiating calm and a low burn of attraction. “You fight in anything other than that giant shape of yours?”

“I’ve a couple of forms that I find comfortable, though I can shift into whatever works best at the moment.” Eren fished for the last of the silverware and wiped them clean as he told his hormones to settle; just because he finally had a lover didn’t mean they were to be indulged all of the time. Unfortunately. “I’ve a more human form with hardened skin for when I’m stuck in a crowd, and can shift into something similar to a hybrid were form as well.”

Levi grunted and took a sip of tea. “Good, we’ll have you try them out while the ward’s up, see if it affects anything, and then I’ll hit you with that spell I was talking about. I might tinker with it some, too, since we don’t know if the enemy has something that’ll freeze you while shifted.”

Done with the dishes and his ardor cooled off a little now that they were talking about ways to mess with his magic, Eren let the dirty water drain out then dried his hands. “It’s not often that I shift into something small and harmless, but there are times when it helps with escaping.” Or if someone influenced him along the lines which Levi was doing right now, though usually without all the fun emotions.

“That or they lock you into your current form.” Levi reached out with his left hand to brush his fingertips along Eren’s face; Eren had pulled his bangs back with a clip he’d borrowed from Hange while he’d cooked to keep the strands from falling into his eyes. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that your enemies are going to do their best to take away all of your advantages during a fight so plan accordingly.”

There was a flatness to Levi’s voice and emotions just then, a hardness to his grey eyes which told Eren that the necromancer had experience to back up his words. Shivering a little, Eren stepped forward as he reached for Levi’s hand and pressed it against his cheek. “How do you stop a necromancer?” As soon as the question slipped free, he wondered if he should have asked it.

Yet all Levi did was set his tea aside and wrapped his right arm around Eren’s waist to pull him in even closer. “You try to be all smart and lure him into an area wiped clean of all spirits and any remnants of the dead, but there’s a trick to that.” He leaned in to nuzzle Eren’s left ear as his emotions warmed up with a bit of lust. “You have to take him out quick, because all he needs is one slip, one new death and the board’s leveled.”

Eren could easily imagine Levi creating that ‘slip’ immediately. “They underestimated you, huh?” He brushed his fingers back and forth over the shaved undercut of his lover’s hair, and smiled a little at how Levi shivered in reaction.

“Yeah, they did. Mages are fucking idiots – all that magic and they never expect a damn knife in the throat.” There was a slight smirk to his thin lips as he flicked Eren on the ear he’d just nuzzled. “Which is why once we’re done with the magic practice, we’ll work on those fighting lessons.” There was a sense of smugness as well with the lust.

“Have I mentioned yet how much of a slave driver you are?” Eren scrunched his eyes closed as he rubbed at his abused ear. “Can’t I just like, shift into armored skin or something?”

“Not today and no, that’s just being lazy.”

When Eren opened his eyes, he found Levi giving him a bland look while reaching for the mug of tea. “I think you just like seeing me fail at things while rubbing it in my nose how perfect you are.”

Levi’s left eyebrow raised up while he sipped his tea, as good as an affirmation as anything. Eren sputtered and attempted to pull free, but in addition to being an asshole, Levi was also pretty damn strong. “No wonder everyone wants to kill you,” Eren muttered as he attempted to pry free from the hand wrapped around his hip.

“Amusing. It’s going to be fun to lob spells at your ass while you’re hiding behind that ward,” Levi drawled.

“Yeah, try to contain that sense of enthusiasm there, old man. You shouldn’t be so eager about attempted murder.” Eren allowed his nails to grow and dragged them along the back of his lover’s neck in warning.

“*Attempted* murder – if it works then you deserve it for being so pathetic, brat.” Levi narrowed his eyes and his emotions sharpened toward… *something*, but right about then, Erwin walked into the room and they shifted to annoyance instead.

“Is this one of those foreplay things?” Erwin glanced back and forth between Levi and Eren, his thick brows drawn together and a phone held in his right hand. “Because I don’t believe that the kitchen is an appropriate place for it.”

Levi sighed as he loosened his hold on Eren, only to drag him to stand at his side. “We were making plans for the day – Eren’s going to get his ass kicked in the name of self-preservation and education.”

“More like your sick sense of amusement,” Eren muttered as he jabbed his boyfriend in the ribs, which Levi ignored – nope, that got Eren’s right foot stamped on, hard, and sheesh, did Levi weigh a ton.

Erwin did that thing where he pinched the bridge of his nose, which Eren noticed he did a lot when around Levi and Hange, then sighed. “As heartening as it is to see you flourishing in a relationship, I have need of you this morning, Levi.”

“No, I already have plans,” Levi shot back without any hesitation.

As if expecting that answer, Erwin sighed again and held up his phone. “And I’m sure they’re very important plans, but this is critical; Mike found some bodies in… unusual conditions about forty miles from here.” He looked at Eren for several seconds before resuming his staring contest with Levi. “From the little he *can* tell, they’re Reiss.”

Levi was still for a few heartbeats and then cursed under his breath. “I’m driving that fancy car of yours – you’re like an old lady behind the wheel.”

“Fine, and I’ll even pay for our meals while on the road.” Erwin nodded at Eren. “I apologize for interfering with your plans for the day.”

Before Eren could say anything, Levi gave him a smack on the hip as he stepped forward. “You’ll practice with Hange, understood? No excuse for slacking just because I’m not here.”

“Oh, yay,” Eren ‘enthused’ as he followed his lover to the front door. “Fun times.”

Hange looked up from her desk as Erwin and Levi shrugged into their coats. “Oh, you’re leaving?”

“Yeah, and you’re going to play with Eren while I’m gone.” Levi appeared to reconsider what he said when Hange jumped out of her chair and cheered. “Just with wards and some offensive spells, you maniac. He better be in one piece when I get back or I’ll have the revenants chew on your intestines.”

“One of these days I’ll stop disposing of the evidence around here and leaving you some prime toys,” Hange complained as she came to a halt a few feet away from Eren. “Fine, you’ll barely notice any scratches or dents, happy?”

“Uhm, *no*,” Eren insisted as he pressed against Levi’s side. “Can I come with-“

“NO.” Levi smacked him on the ass and grabbed at him as if to shove him away before tugging him in close instead. “Not about to ruin all of our hard work and let you past those wards, you idiot,” he muttered before giving Eren a kiss goodbye.

“Hmm.” Eren enjoyed the rush of passion and something warm and possessive that poured into him, and groaned when Levi finally did give him a gentle push away. “So… stay with crazy woman?”

“Yeah.” Levi rolled his eyes when Hange let out a loud protest. “See if you can’t remove her spleen for me and we’ll be back by dinner.”

“Okay. Have fun with… ah, whatever.”

“Bodies. Dead bodies, which we really need to go investigate. Hange, do try to behave,” Erwin urged as he opened the door and gestured for Levi to precede him outside. Eren waved as Levi left, the sense of the necromancer’s magic fading away with each step.

“Aw, you look as if someone just took away your pet puppy. Though considering it’s Levi, your pet pitbull?” She reached over to tousle Eren’s hair, which knocked the hair clip askew. “It’ll be okay, Erwin is, no pun intended, demonically strong when it comes to casting magic and will make sure that Levi comes back.”

Eren swiped back his bangs and reclipped them while looking up at Hange; dammit, he was getting used to being short, wasn’t he? “Just how strong is Erwin? He feels at almost the same level as Levi.”

Hange hummed a little as she headed toward the kitchen; Eren followed since he remembered that there’d been a pot of tea in there. “Yep, Levi’s got the edge in power though Erwin’s a Jack and several decades older.” Eren’s eyes widened at the news that Erwin wasn’t tied to an element or any specific skill or bloodline, but had a general mastery of spells – no wonder Levi seemed to defer to the older man. “I’d say it would be interesting to see the two of them fight, but it would be nasty as hell and they’re both friends.” Hange grimaced as she fetched two mugs from the upper cabinet, then handed one to Eren.

Since this was the first time other than the night he’d arrived that he’d been left alone with the blood witch, Eren figured he’d ask a few more questions; it wasn’t that Levi didn’t talk to him, it was just that he didn’t want to overstep any bounds and risk raising painful topics to his lover. “So, you’ve known Levi and Erwin a long time?” He tried to keep his voice casual while he poured the tea.

Unfortunately, Hange seemed to see right through him. “Aw, you really are utterly adorable, you know that?” She ruffled his hair again before laughing as she went over to the coffee machine. “I’ve known Erwin since I could barely curdle any blood, which is a long, long time.” She waggled her right forefinger at him as if to discourage him from asking just how long a time that was. “Erwin had been off with Mike and Nanaba when he brought back Levi one day… oh, about nine or ten decades ago, and the rest is history, as they say.” Her usual expression of demented cheerfulness slipped into something serious for a moment. “I know you feel guilty about the house and all, but you really are good for him – he’s spent too much time alone the last couple of decades. It’s difficult for necromancers, especially powerful ones like him. Too many people fear what they don’t understand, and you know what they do to what they fear.”

Eren stared into his tea as he nodded. “They either kill it or force it under their control.” There were times when he wished that the former would be his fate, that those hunting him would kill him if he ever got captured. It would be much better than to have his will stripped away by geas, to be a mindless thing that shifted into what anyone wanted again and again and *again* until no trace of his original self remained. As much as it had hurt to leave Mikasa and Armin behind, he’d done it not only so they’d have some chance at a normal life but also so they’d remember him as he’d been then – not as how he’d end up in his captors’ hands.

He started when he felt a foreign magic nearby and then a tentative touch to his arm and found Hange standing at his side. “Hey, don’t look so sad, okay? Levi’s not joking about that revenant shit.” She frowned as she glanced around. “Grumpy bastard probably has some spirits spying on us right now, so don’t give him any ammunition to use against me. Cheer up!” she urged. “Finish your tea so I can see if this one spell I have for amped up chicken pox can get past your ward.”

“Uhm, I’m not… that doesn’t… maybe I’ll just stay inside.” Eren hugged his mug of tea against his chest as if it was a shield. Wasn’t chicken pox really uncomfortable?

“Nope! We have our orders!” Hange laughed as she patted him on the shoulder. “I’m even taking it easy on you – just whipped up this really fun spell for gonorrhea, but Levi really will have my spleen if I try it out on you.”

The worst part of all of this? Levi refused to let him get drunk; Eren sighed as he stared into his tea and wished that he could spike it with whisky or something to help make all of this insanity bearable. “If I can fend off your spells, you’re breaking out that whisky from the other day, all right?”

Hange blinked in surprise and then grinned. “You got yourself a deal!” She picked up the mug that she’d set down on the counter and took a swig of it as if it were some sort of alcoholic beverage. “Now hurry up, we’re wasting daylight!”

“Let me just go grab a robe, okay?” Eren drank as much of his tea as he could before dumping it out in the sink and rinsing the mug clean. “I’ll meet you outside.”

“That’s right! I get to see some shifter booty! That’ll be… argh! I bet that grumpy bastard really did order some spirits to watch over us.” Hange glared as she slammed her phone down on the counter.

Having the feeling that it was going to be a long day, Eren hurried to the bedroom to change, intent on perfecting his wards as much as possible so he could at least get a couple of shots of whisky in before Levi returned.

*******

As soon as Levi stepped out of Erwin’s expensive as fuck sports car and onto the clearing of what looked to be an abandoned construction site, he knew something was off – there was a sense of magic gone wrong, of a deep unsettledness in his bones, of a desire to scratch at his skin until his nails tore at his nerves. Fuck. *Fuck*. “Just so you know, I hate you. So. Much. right now.”

Erwin paused in fussing with his fancy scarf for a moment to level a gaze that bore a hint of azure at Levi. “That bad?”

Levi hissed as he tore his fingers through his hair. “Shitty understatement of the century, EB.” He stalked to the center of the clearing and stood with his hands held out from his sides as he let loose his power, while Erwin knew best to remain by the car and watch on in silence. “There was another necromancer here, someone with more attitude than talent, the shitstain.” He could feel the remnants of their power along with the shredded tatters of the dead’ souls, the flickers of those spirits’ remains scattered about in the cold air as they hovered about their mangled bodies.

“The cocky shit either didn’t bother to check to make sure they’d finished the job or didn’t know how.” He clicked his tongue in disgust at such incompetence as he allowed his power to blanket the area.

Erwin leaned against the sleek hood of his car as he broke his silence. “You know the person?”

“Don’t lower myself to deal with anyone this stupid,” Levi scoffed as his magic ‘soaked’ into the dead, both the physical and immaterial. “Whoever they are, they’re young and not nearly as trained as they think they are – nor as powerful. Might have some potential in a few decades if someone showed them what to do, but too bad I’m gonna shred them instead.”

“Yes, it is rather fitting, considering the circumstances.” Erwin pulled out his phone and began tapping away at it. “Nanaba says that neither she nor Mike are having much luck in tracking down the killers, so it’s up to you to see if you can find anything here.” He nodded once at Levi as if to tell him to get to work.

Arrogant bastard, but what else was new. Levi grunted as he sent a pulse of energy and will through his magic, and those tattered remnants of souls flared bright in his vision, a multitude of sparks that slowly began to collate into several larger shapes. Choosing one that seemed the most cohesive, he focused on it and drove his magic in deep, let it ‘crawl’ into the spirit until they almost merged, until the spirit held some of his essence as well and then opened himself to the dead.

/Concentrate! There had to be some sign of the damn shifter, some trail to follow that-/

Too far back. Levi shifted for memories a little closer to the final trauma, to the moment of death.

/-tearing pain, claws and agony and-/

There, almost had it, now just a little sooner. Panting with the effort, Levi gritted his teeth and pulled back just a little more to distance himself from the agony the mage had suffered before dying.

/why wasn’t the spell working? How could they just bounce off that armored skin? What was this thing? What were they? Stop it, stop it, stop it! Try the flames, try it now before – no, stop, stop-/

“Fuck.” Levi wiped at his face as he used his talent to properly dissipate the unfortunate soul then took a deep breath before he dove into the next one. Wasn’t he the lucky one? It was pretty much the same thing here as well, though the images he got along with the panicked thoughts and painful death was of some freaky skinless form who could cover herself with crystal armor anytime the earth mage lobbed a spell at her ass. Something told him that if he checked with the remaining souls it would be much the same thing so he decided to save himself the worsening headache and just sent the tattered spirits onto their earned oblivion.

“You’re done already?” Erwin pushed away from the car and approached Levi as he crouched near the closest mess that was a body. “That was quick.”

“Yes and no – I just figured that there wasn’t much sense in wasting any effort in seeing the same stuff again and again.” He gestured to the wreck before him and used his talent to make it roll over onto its back while straightening out its mangled form. “What do you see?”

Erwin frowned as he squatted down beside Levi. “It looks as if a were got hold of it with those claw marks and blunt force trauma, but Mike said that’s not what it smelled like to him.”

“Not many were have senses as powerful as him despite their animal forms.” Levi spread his left hand out over the ragged slashes that had torn through the mage’s throat. “I can see why they bothered with that pissant necromancer, though, because otherwise yeah, you’d believe that a pack of were, maybe wolves or bear, were behind this.”

His friend’s frown deepened as he called up hellfire to consume the body while rising to his feet to hover near the body as the blueish flames burned; his strong, handsome face was cast in gaunt hollows as he breathed in deep as if scenting something other than charred flesh. “I don’t… there’s a hint of… *something*. What, I can’t exactly say but I wouldn’t have thought to check for it unless you and Mike had raised these doubts.”

Levi shook his head as he stepped away from the burning corpse which was already half-reduced to ash. “What fucking doubts? I told you it wasn’t a were.”

“Then what was it?”

He let out a slow breath as he ran his hands through his hair and considered the images that the dead had provided to him with everything he’d learned over the last several days, then spoke the ridiculous thought aloud. “We certain that Eren’s the only shifter out there?”

At first Erwin stared at Levi with eyes glowing azure and face still cast into gaunt shadows from the hellfire, and then his eyes widen as his mouth gaped open. “Are you- of course you’re serious.” He dismissed the flames once the body had disintegrated into fine ash. “What did you see?”

“Some really weird shit.” Levi tucked his hands into the pockets of his black coat and then hugged it closer to his body; what he wouldn’t give for a nice, warm boyfriend just then to huddle near. “From what I caught, these unlucky fucks were trying to pick up on Eren’s trail and then several creatures approached – they appeared humanoid but bigger than normal, and they could grow armor that repelled spells as if some type of wards.” He went through the memories for a few seconds before he looked back at Erwin. “They were fast as hell and they changed shape at will to pull on the armor and claws. Remind you of anybody?”

“Eren.” Erwin pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment and sighed. “Yes, I have to agree with you that they do indeed sound like shifters.” His frown deepened as he stared back at Levi. “He hasn’t mentioned anything about other shifters, has he?”

“Nope, he knows jack shit about his own kind from what I can tell – his father kept him in the dark and he’s more than a little bitter about that. The man might know something about the others, though.” Levi turned toward another of the twisted, broken bodies. “Have to wonder if that’s why he rabbited out of there after telling Eren that he was a ‘key’.”

“This is getting depressingly complicated,” Erwin ground out. “So not only do we have just about every major magic organization out hunting down your boyfriend, but now there are other shifters out there as well? I wonder if Reiss knows about them.”

Levi clicked his tongue as he confirmed that the body was one of Reiss’ top mages. “I’m willing to bet they didn’t, or else there would be more bodies. They wouldn’t have sent so few mages and half a pack to take on from what I can tell were three shifters.”

“Three?” Erwin paused in examining what appeared to be some sort of enchanted gauntlet to arch a bushy eyebrow in Levi’s direction. “That many?”

“I saw two distinct shifters from the dead and a vague shape in the background so yeah, three.”

“This is why I leave you to Hange most of the time,” Erwin muttered as he removed the gauntlet, wrapped it in what appeared to be a spelled cloth and shoved it into his left pocket. “You’re always so much trouble.”

“Who’s the one who drafted my ass, eh?”

“Better you be a known trouble for me than at my throat.” Erwin grinned as he straightened up, only for the expression to slip away after a couple of seconds. “What are the odds for there to be four shifters at the same time?”

“At least four – Hange said that Eren got his talent through his dad’s bloodline, so that bastard might be one like him, too.” Levi toed some dirt over a patch of dried blood as he wondered how it was some assholes could just up and run off on- no, not now. Last thing he needed was to bring his own fucked up past into what was already a huge mess. “Question is, what was their motive here? They trying to keep these shitstains from tracking down Eren or to beat them to him first?”

“Never the fun questions with you.” Erwin went over to another body and motioned to Levi, who clicked his tongue again as he flipped it over with his magic. “I’m picking up some very powerful magical aids on them, so I’d say that they were sent with assistance to track down Eren, subdue him and get rid of you.” Erwin had the audacity to flash a mild grin in Levi’s direction. “I think you’re annoying them.”

“Great, totally makes my day. Can we go now?”

“Not quite yet.” Erwin liberated a necklace this time.

“Never had you pegged as a thief – what, you want me to teach you how to pick pockets next?”

“Hmm, it might come in handy some day, but as of right now, I’m also thinking that maybe Hange can help me with some inventive curses for the people who supplied these charms.” Erwin took care to once more wrap the item before tucking it away. “It’s not often we come across an opportunity like this.”

It was the evil bastard’s propensity to think ten steps ahead of everyone else that kept Levi loyal to him, that and Erwin did honor his promises. “So what do you think about these new shifters?”

“Yes, I have to admit it doesn’t look promising.” Erwin grimaced as he slid a ring from a finger that was little more than crushed bone. “Considering the fact that they attempted to dispel the spirits but left the corpses behind, I believe that they wanted to make clear the message that Eren’s not worth the effort anymore while covering their tracks. That reeks of possessiveness to me, not protectiveness.”

In other words, they were gunning for the brat, too. Levi rubbed at the nape of his neck while he wished for something still left alive to destroy. “This is going to get nasty.”

“I have to say that I agree with you, especially since Reiss isn’t going to receive the message.” Done collecting his loot, Erwin called up more flames to destroy the rest of the bodies. “The only thing going for us right now is that you and Hange have done an exemplary job of covering Eren’s trail.”

Something in the subtle gleam of brilliant blue to Erwin’s eyes and the thoughtful tone to his voice made Levi’s body tense. “You’re not about to tell me something incredibly foolish like you’re thinking of using Eren as bait, are you?” Erwin might have burned the dead, the *recent* dead, but there were others here buried long ago, their bones sunk into the ground yet still willing to heed Levi’s call.

As if sensing the sudden flux of Levi’s power, Erwin stilled except to hold his hands out at his side. “No, I’m not.” When Levi continued to stare at him with his power ready to lash out, Erwin repeated the words. “I’m not, I swear. However, how long can you keep Eren trapped behind wards? How long before they make the connection between you and Hange?”

Levi reminded himself that Erwin hadn’t betrayed him yet, that he’d kept his promise about Isabel and Farlan. “We’ll teach him how to fucking ward himself and then we’ll leave.” He relaxed his magic as he flexed his hands, and wished that there was something he could punch or kick, something he could attack to take out all the anger and anxiety he felt. Dammit, where was a shitty enemy when he wanted to fight?

Erwin smiled, the expression slight and a little strained, as he tucked back an end of his scarf. “You and Hange are two of the best out there so I’m sure he’ll learn quickly. But we’ve determined enemies, Levi. It’s best to be prepared.”

“I won’t lose him, Smith.” The ground trembled as Levi declared his intent; he allowed Erwin to take Isabel and Farlan away in order to keep them safe, to provide them a chance to have an actual life than to be used against him or worse. Well, fuck that when it came to Eren. He’d given the brat a chance to walk away that night and *Eren* had chosen to stay, so that was that. ‘Complimentary’, Erwin had said. Fine, then no one was taking the idiot shifter away from Levi if something wanted them stuck with each other.

To his surprise, Erwin’s smile strengthened and he pulled out his phone. “Good, because we’ll need you in fine fighting form from the looks of things. Now, if we’re done here, Mike and Nanaba are waiting for us. How does Thai sound for lunch? There’s a decent restaurant that should meet even your standards about twenty minutes from here.” Sounding rather smug at the moment, he didn’t wait for Levi’s answer as he began to type away on the phone and head back to the car.

“Wait, what?” Using his power to resettle the dead, Levi scowled as he chased after the bastard. “How many stars is the place? When was the last inspection? I’m not about to eat at some cockroach infested cesspit!”

*******

This was fun. This was *fun*. “This is so much *fun*!” Hange laughed as she barely darted out of the way of claws that would have hurt, well, hurt a *lot* and sent a spell that usually shattered bones Eren’s way. “Can we do this every day?”

“Please, no,” he panted as he seemed to ‘melt’ a little, shifting away from the magic even as his right arm swung her way. She jumped back just in time but sheesh, he was a fast little bugger. Well, not that little, really. And not that cute when he was all bulked up and teethy and huh, was it an ancestral throw-back form like Mike or-

Yeah, not a good idea to be distracted right now, when Eren seemed to take Levi’s ‘give me her spleen’ comment to heart. “Uhm, you a little frisky today or what?”

“If… I gut you… this ends.” Eren shook aside the straggly ends of dark hair that were falling onto his face and bared his impressive set of sharp teeth at her as his claws just barely raked across her left thigh. “Almost as bad… as *him*.” He whined as he wheeled away from another spell.

“Aw thanks, I think you’re special, too.” For a newbie, Eren was doing a decent job of fighting back, though he’d given up on casting his own spells half an hour ago and was barely maintaining a personal ward. It would take a few more years before he was anywhere near her or Levi’s level, but he showed promise – he had a raw determination that would take him far if given a chance.

That and between her and Levi, they were more than happy to run him into the ground to bring that promise out. “Well, if you’re not going to play nice, neither should I.” She couldn’t help but grin at the panicked look on his face as she readied one of her higher level spells, one that had her victims twitching on the ground as their limbs locked up and nerves went haywire. “This will hurt you more than me, I promise.”

“Oh shit!” Eren’s body appeared to be in flux as he shifted into something else, something to help him get away, and his ward began to break down in his panic. Hange actually felt a little sorry at the moment – she hadn’t meant to freak him out like that – and then there was a flare of that potent wild magic again, just like back in the kitchen.

She had a moment to ready her own wards in preparation of an attack before a cloud of steam poured off of Eren, and the next thing she knew he was huddled upon himself, more or less in his own shape but covered in some crystalline substance.

“Eren?” She took a step forward and a thick, greenish tendril similar to the one which had formed from the kitchen table shot up from the weed and leaf-covered round and snapped back and forth in front of her face. “Ack! Stop that! Are you doing this? Eren?”

“I… I don’t know.” The poor kid sounded exhausted and dropped to his knees, so whatever that clear, hard substance was it allowed him freedom of movement. “Ohh… tired.” His hands went up into his hair, which dripped with sweat, and his eyelids fluttered several times.

“Eren! Stay with me! Don’t pass out!” Hange didn’t want to think what would happen if he became unconscious, since all of this appeared to be some sort of defense mechanism. “Can you, uhm, call back your guard… thingie?” She jabbed at the tendril and hissed when it smacked her finger. “Don’t give me any shit or I will chop you up into a salad!”

At first there was no reply, and then Eren lowered his right hand so he could look at her. “Erwin…. He said to will it away, right?”

Erwin had told Levi to do that, but it should work for Eren, too, especially since Hange could feel a light thread of Levi’s magic inside of Eren’s. “Yep, so why don’t you give that a try, honey?” She all but held her breath as Eren placed his right hand onto the ground, and after a few seconds the tendril retreated back into it. “Good boy,” she crooned as she took a cautious step forward; when nothing else sprung up, she hurried toward him and sunk down onto her knees.

“Oh, wow, this is *incredible*.” Her hands hovered over him as the magic poured off his body even more intensively than usual. “What does it feel like? What did you do? Can I have some blood?”

Eren groaned as he scrubbed at his face while shaking his head, minute trembles running through his armored-covered body the entire time. “I don’t… I don’t know.”

“To all three?”

He groaned again as he rocked back into a kneeling position. “Yes?” His hand fell down into his lap, and from what Hange could see beneath the crystal coating, the poor kid looked ready to pass out at any moment. “I just… just was trying to cast a ward.”

“Hmm.” She studied him for a moment while chewing on her right thumb; this didn’t look like the previous ‘armored’ form he’d used a time or two during their practice session, when he’d thickened his skin for protection from fire or other projectile spells. “So you were shifting and trying to recast the ward and this happened, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And nothing like this has happened before?”

Eren grunted as he hunched over and propped up his head with the palm of his right hand, apparently fading fast.

“Okay, so, do your best to keep the nasty tendril things at bay, but I’m going to cast another spell at you.” Wow, that woke him up fast, didn’t it? When he stared at her with golden eyes wide and more than a hint of fang showing, she held up her hands in a placating manner. “Nothing bad, I promise! I just want to test a theory, it’s nothing nasty at all.”

Appearing a bit dubious about the whole thing, Eren none-the-less nodded as he struggled to sit up properly. “Nothing weird, right?”

“Right, just a little spell that’ll tickle your funny bone, so to speak.” There was an amusement factor to incapacitating your enemy by having them doubled over with laughter, unable to even breathe, while Levi summoned revenants to rip out their spines. Just in case, Hange rose up to her feet and took a step back before she readied the spell, mindful of attacking greenery, and summoned her magic only to let it go… and nothing. It was as if Eren wasn’t there, when she knew that she’d aimed it right at him. “Huh. You feel anything?”

He rubbed at his hair as if desperate to stay awake. “Maybe? Sensed your magic but that was it.”

Oooh, this was exciting. “Honey, I think you managed to somehow fuse a ward into your body, which is *impossible*! I mean, I know there’s charms you can wear to help with protection spells, and some tattoos as well, but nothing along the lines of this!” She jumped up and down at the prospect of what this could mean. “I have to have some more of your blood!”

Eren stared at her before giving a slow blink that changed his eyes back to their normal, lovely shade from the glowing gold. “Oh, yay.” For someone who had just done the impossible, he could show a bit more enthusiasm. “How do I make it go away?”

“Why would you want that?” When Eren continued to just stare at her from a face covered in clear crystal, Hange huffed as she reached out to tap her fingernails against the hard surface. “Yeah, okay, guess it must be odd, to go around like this all the time.” Not to mention a certain grump would be pissed off to discover his boyfriend all ungropeable all of a sudden. “Uh, maybe just concentrate on your normal shape? That or pass out, just a guess.”

She thought she heard him mutter a little before he closed his eyes, and after a few seconds a faint steam rose from his body as the crystal seemed to vanish into thin air. As soon as it was gone, Eren would have fallen face first onto the ground if she hadn’t grabbed at his shoulders.

“Guess that takes a lot of you, no?” She slung his right arm over her shoulder and began to half-carry him back into the house.

“It’s like… first few times I shifted.” He was a limp weight against her and after a few failed attempts at walking just let her drag him along. “Needs lot of energy.”

That made sense since it probably took some effort to learn the new skill, which was a combination of physical as well as magical nature, and, oops, concentrate on not walking Levi’s boyfriend into the door frame. “So you just need to practice this a lot.”

Eren made an odd gurgling sound just then, as if unhappy about something. “No, really, this is such an amazing thing, you have to do it again!” Preferably when Hange could set up a recording of it. “I know it seems like a pain right now when you’re all noodle-y but imagine how helpful it’ll be in a fight!”

“Just wanna sleep.”

“Almost there,” Hange assured him, and did a better job with this doorway than she had with the front door. Of course Levi had made the bed that morning, the neat freak, so she just dumped Eren on top of it and then spent a moment enjoying the view – such a nice ass, no wonder she caught Levi staring at it so much – before going over to the closet for the spare duvet, which of course had just been washed by a certain neat freak. While it would be nice to have the place back to herself, she’d miss all the laundry, cleaning and cooking that was being done by her impromptu guests.

Once the duvet was draped over a now unconscious shifter, Hange ran her fingers through Eren’s tangled hair and wondered if anyone would notice if she took a blood sample. While she debated her chances, she felt a spike of cold run down her back and jerked her hand away from Eren. “Fine! I’ll leave him alone,” she grumbled as she snuck out of the bedroom and left a certain possessive grump’s boyfriend in peace.

*******

Feeling his cell phone buzz, Erwin pulled it out of his pocket while Levi parked the Jaguar. “Hmm, Hange says that if we’re stopping for food that we should bring back enough for dinner.” He winced as Levi ground the gears while throwing the car into neutral.

“Why? Why isn’t Eren cooking? What the fuck did she do to him?” Levi made a swipe for the phone, which Erwin managed to keep from his grasp as he switched hands. “Dammit!”

“Hmm, just something about an interesting practice session, a sleepy cat icon, kissy face cat icon, grumpy face icon, and a sushi icon. Ah, they do have a sushi bar here. I know Hange likes eel, but what about Eren?” He gave his irate friend a bland look while Levi all but ground his teeth together.

“I will kill you and reanimate your corpse to kill you again,” Levi spat out.

“Hmm, so pad thai to play it safe? Or maybe green curry?”

A vein beneath Levi’s left eye began to throb. “Go back to hell.”

“Both it is. Now come on, Mike and Nanaba are already inside.” Just when Levi lunged for his throat, Erwin grinned and tossed his phone at the short-tempered bastard before opening the car door. “Don’t keep us waiting.”

Levi snarled but exited the car as well, kicking the door closed behind him as he typed away on the phone with both thumbs; really, he needed to get a phone of his own one of these days. Perhaps Eren could talk him into it. Hange must have provided a better explanation – one Erwin would read later after his phone was returned to him, but he assumed it wasn’t too bad since Levi’s stormy expression had cleared up by the time they reached the front door of the restaurant.

“Brat learned a new trick,” Levi explained as he handed over the phone, cautious about saying anything else out in public. “Better be awake by the time we get back.” He was obviously going for annoyed but there was too much concern in his deep voice just then as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat and frowned at nothing.

“Ah.” Erwin nodded in understanding before smiling at the host and motioning past the young man at the tables in the restaurant. “We’re meeting people.” He led Levi into the dining room toward a booth in the back, where their friends were already seated.

What he liked about ‘Thaiphoon’, despite its cheesy name yet decent ratings was the fact that it was an establishment patronized almost entirely by ‘normals’. The food was good, the service polite, the premise clean enough for Levi not to storm out in a fit of temper, and very few of the magical community patronized it because none of them owned it, worked there or had businesses in the neighborhood. There were no wards to make one feel safe, no special items on the menu to entice one, nothing special about the place to draw one in… except if you wanted to meet another magically-inclined person in private, it was a good place to do just that. Erwin would be very upset once this secret got out, though it wasn’t as if he couldn’t find another such place… well, it would take some effort to find a restaurant clean enough to please Levi.

“Let’s hurry this up,” Levi snapped as he slid into the booth. “Where’s the fucking menu?”

It looked as if someone was eager to check up on their boyfriend, weren’t they?

Nanaba, dressed in a grey woolen cardigan with the hood draped over her shoulders, smiled as she set aside the mango bubble tea she’d been drinking. “It’s nice to see you, too.” Beside her, bundled up in a dark overcoat as if he didn’t have much on beneath it, Mike leaned over the table to sniff at Levi, his eyes flaring green behind his thick blond bangs.

“You smell odd – like strange magic and sex.” The were grunted as he glanced at Erwin, who had to put a restraining hand on Levi to keep him in his seat. “Something up?”

“Let’s just say that Hange won the bet in regards to Levi, and it does have something to do with our latest bout of trouble.” When Levi began muttering about assholes under his breath, Erwin patted him on the arm. “It had to come out sooner or later.”

“Fucking bastards to bet on me like that. Should gut you all.” Levi snatched at the menu lying in front of Mike and made sure to smack the were in the face before reading it, to which the large man merely blinked in response. “And mind your fucking business.”

“So, it’s serious?”

“Yes, it appears to be that way,” Erwin informed Mike as he picked up his own menu. “Both the relationship and situation.”

“Oi! You shitty-“

Fortunately they were saved by the server arriving to ask them if they wanted to drink, so Erwin smiled through having his shin kicked while he asked for a green bubble tea while Levi stuck with regular green tea, then he asked for a little longer to decide on their order. As soon as the man left, he cast a temporary ward around them that would prevent anyone from overhearing their conversation.

“Now, before he returns, I take it that you didn’t have much luck in finding a trail?”

Nanaba shook her head, her blond hair gleaming in the restaurant’s dim light, while Mike grunted. “They’re good, whoever they are. Barely got any whiff of their scent at all though….” He paused to lean over the table again. “Sorta smell like what’s clinging to Levi.”

Everyone grew quiet again, with Nanaba and Mike’s attention focused on Levi while they waited for the server to return. They placed their orders when the drinks were dropped off, with Levi and Erwin ordering some take-away for later, and once that was done and the server gone, Erwin restored the ward. “Funny you should say that.” He gestured to Levi. “You want to tell them?”

There was a hint of silver to Levi’s hooded eyes for a moment and then he sighed. “Shifters are involved,” was all he said, but the venomous look he gave Mike and Nanaba put a halt to their immediate exclamations.

Nanaba blinked a few times while she glanced back and forth between Erwin and Levi while Mike leaned in for another sniff, which prompted a muttered curse from Levi. “Huh. Interesting.” He leaned back and folded his arms over his broad chest. “Yours too?”

Levi’s jaw clenched a couple of times before he nodded. “Reiss is after him, and seems like so are the others.”

“But-“ Nanaba shook her head and toyed with the straw in her drink, the thick liquid bubbling up for a moment. “It’s like a legend come to life.”

“I will admit it’s unheard of, which is why we need to be very careful.” Erwin tapped his fingers against the table as he glanced around the restaurant; he’d searched with his talent upon entering the place to make sure no other were or mages beside Mike and Nanaba were within the premises, but it paid to be overly cautious at times like this. “For the time being, Levi and Hange will concentrate on… well, they’ll be at Hange’s. I want the two of you out there keeping an eye on Reiss and seeing if you can find out anything on our new ‘friends’.” He tapped his phone onto the tabletop to let Mike and Nanaba know that he would send them an encrypted message with information on their ‘targets’ later on, so they wouldn’t be searching blind.

Mike grunted once while Nanaba nodded, their expressions calm as they accepted both the mission and the situation. “Anyone else involved, sir?”

Erwin shrugged as he reclined back in the booth. “I may pull the squad out, but I’d rather not unleash them and risk attracting attention unless necessary.”

“You’re spouting a bunch of bullshit – they know how to do their job,” Levi griped around the rim of his teacup.

“Hmm, I would hope so after you spent so long smacking them into shape.” Erwin grinned at his friend, which caused Levi to click his tongue and glance aside; he most likely didn’t want to admit that he was hoping to keep Petra, Erd and Gunter in reserve just in case Levi and Hange needed back-up.

“Whatever. And what’s keeping our food?” Levi set the cup down on the table with more force than was necessary as he glared around the restaurant. “They better not be fucking around back there in the kitchen.”

His complaint provoked another grunt from Mike, this one more amused than the last, and a sly smile from Nanaba. “Oh, someone has it bad, doesn’t he?” the quiet woman commented as she sidled next to Mike.

“Anxious,” Mike rumbled as he rubbed his nose. “And worried.”

Levi’s eyes flared silver as his head jerked toward the were. “I will make a shitty rug out of you, just watch-“ His rant came to a halt when Erwin summoned a judicious amount of flame beneath the table near Levi’s right thigh for about two seconds.

“May I remind everyone that we are in the company of some lovely, *normal* people and it would be a shame to ruin their lunch?” He gave each of them the bland smile he saved for times when he was about three seconds away from singing away a layer or two of skin from idiots who needed to learn a painful lesson. “Ah, that’s much better now.” Pausing to sip his drink, he nodded once to Levi when he was finished. “We can leave as soon as our food arrives if it’ll make you feel better.”

“I’m not worried, just don’t trust Hange alone with the brat if he’s not feeling well,” Levi mumbled as he fidgeted with his chopsticks.

Erwin allowed him the excuse since this was such a new situation for Levi to be in. “Understandable.” He glanced across the table to his flabbergasted companions – the signs were there if you knew them. “In that case, if you have any questions or concerns, it’s best to raise them now while we’re still here.”

Nanaba stopped blinking in rapid succession and shook her head. “No, sir, nothing I can think of at the moment.” Beside her, Mike huffed once while he stared intently at Levi, which Erwin took for a ‘no’ as well.

Great – on one hand, he had two excellent agents prepared to track down the enemy, and on the other hand, he had a long car ride to look forward to with an anxious, short-tempered, emotionally involved necromancer and he wouldn’t even get to eat lunch. Erwin sighed as he finished off his bubble tea.

*******

Hmm, magic. Magic and warmth. Eren nuzzled his cheek against the hard surface his face rested upon and hugged himself closer to the wonderful source of magic and warmth.

“You’re disgusting.”

Levi’s voice. Levi’s scent. Levi’s magic. Groaning at the thought of waking up all the way, Eren forced his eyes open even as he snuggled up closer to his lover. “Don’ care.” Levi was warm and in bed with him, Eren really didn’t care.

“Of course you don’t, you’re a disgusting cuddle monster.” Levi spat out the words as if they were the vilest insult, yet he combed the fingers of his right hand through Eren’s hair, his other hand occupied with a book. “It’s like sleeping with a landlocked octopus or something.”

“Hmm.” Eren hauled himself a little more on top of Levi’s lap so he could soak up more of that wonderful warmth and magic. “So?” It wasn’t as if he’d done this with everyone he’d slept with – well, there’d been those nights when he’d curled up with Armin and Mikasa to share body heat, but it had mainly been Mikasa he’d wrapped himself around because of her magic. Yet her magic hadn’t been anywhere near as addicting as Levi’s, had made him want to press himself against the necromancer when awake or asleep so he could feel it against his skin at all times of the day.

“Why do I even bother?” Levi clicked his tongue as if he truly was disgusted and exchanged the book for a mug of tea which sat emitting tendrils of steam on top of the nightstand. “Oi, you have any brains left after that trick you did with Hange?” He gave a tug to a strand of Eren’s hair.

“Ow.” Eren flopped his left hand about in attempt to ward off the abuse and wrinkled his nose. “Think so?”

Levi sighed into the mug and closed his eyes. After a few sips he set it aside and covered his face with his hand. “Have I really killed enough people to deserve being inflicted with you?”

“I-“

Eren yelped when he received a flick to his left ear. “That was a rhetorical question.” Levi sounded exhausted just then, almost as much as Eren felt, and then his expression settled into the familiar ‘hard-ass’ one which sent a jolt of energy through Eren since that look usually didn’t bode well for him. “Now, you going to tell me what happened earlier?”

“Uhm… okay.” Eren forced his body into a sitting position; he realized that he was naked beneath the duvet and ended up straddling Levi’s legs with the soft comforter wrapped around him. “I-“ he coughed a little, his throat dry and his thoughts still a little scattered from the lingering sense of sleep.

Levi clicked his tongue and handed over the mug. “Such a pain in the ass.”

Eren wrinkled his nose again as he drank the tea, which could use a little more sugar. Once the mug was empty, he handed it back. “Could have left me back in Karanese.”

“You’re like the plague, I’m sure somehow you’d have found a way to track me down and infest my life.” Levi sounded as grouchy as always, yet Eren could sense his amusement. “Now start talking or I’ll smack you.” He put a warning hand on Eren’s covered ass.

“Ooh, is that a kink? I think I’m all right with-“

“Brat,” Levi growled out as his hand tightened on Eren’s behind and his eyes took on a hint of silver.

Eren sighed as he rested his palms against Levi’s chest – not to push him away or to stop him, just to enjoy the feel of his heartbeat and magic. “Okay.” He took a moment to gather his thoughts while he chewed on his lip. “Hange’s insane, right?”

That comment earned him a slight smack, though Levi was more amused than annoyed. “Tell me something I don’t know already.”

Eren gave up on abusing his lower lip to smile. “Yeah. She had a bit too much fun trying to break through my wards, and I was getting tired at the end.” He paused again as he considered the memories. “I don’t – I think it was a mix of me trying to shift into something safe and cast a ward at the same time. It’s nothing I’d ever done before and… well, she told you what happened, right?”

“The fancy armor that repels magic, yeah.” Levi placed his free hand over Eren’s, and the feel of their magic mingling together made Eren’s smile widen. “So you had no clue that would happen?” For some reason Levi’s emotions took on a more serious tone.

“No, not at all.” Eren stared at their hands as he thought about it. “I mean, I’ve never done wards before so any time I ‘armored up’ it was just to protect against physical weapons and the such, blades or claws. It would have come in handy back when I practiced with Mikasa and she used her threads against me, but other than that….” He glanced up at Levi and frowned at the dark look on his lover’s face. “What is it?”

“Your father never said anything about it?”

“What, you mean all those heart to heart talks we never had?” Eren didn’t even try to hold back on the bitterness and anger welling up inside of him. “No, he never said a damn word about my talent, other than to tell me to not change in front of anyone other than family – well, that’s not true, he told me to not change at all, if I could help it, which was impossible.” He would have pulled his hands away from Levi in the need to gesture, to fling it about in frustration, but Levi held on so he only jerked his left hand free and through his hair as the duvet fell down around his hips. “It was almost as if he believed if he didn’t talk about it, it would just go away, my talent.”

That provoked a deep grunt from his lover. “Yeah, as if shit like that ever works.” Levi’s eyes grew unfocused for a moment and then he shook his head before huffing as he tucked the duvet back around Eren. “So he never said anything about other shifters?”

“Huh?” Eren shivered a little as Levi’s fingers brushed against his neck and shoulders. “What other shifters? You mean like my grandparents or something?”

“You really have no fucking clue, do you?” Levi tugged on a strand of hair falling alongside Eren’s face. “Hate to break it to you, but looks like you’re not quite as special as everyone thinks.”

“Eh?” Eren cocked his head to the side and winced when he felt his hair be tugged upon again. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That you’re not the only shifter out there, you brain-dead brat.”

“I’m not brain-dea- eh?” He blinked at Levi as the words sunk in. “Really? I’m not the only shifter?” Excitement bubbled up inside and made him laugh. “So what, those assholes will leave me alone now?”

There was a flash of pity as Levi let go of his hair to trail his hand to the nape of Eren’s neck instead. “Not quite. From what we can tell, it looks as if the other shifters are trying to track you down as well.” Levi seemed to find something of interest on Eren’s chest. “Guess it sucks to be a ‘key’, right?”

For a moment Eren’s throat was tight as the disappointment sunk in – disappointment over the fact that he wasn’t free, that he couldn’t stop running, couldn’t just enjoy life without always looking over his shoulder, without worrying about being caught and having his will, his *mind*, stripped away one day. “You could say that, yeah.” The words came out as barely more than a whisper.

He found himself yanked forward until his forehead pressed against Levi’s. “Look, we’ll figure this shit out, okay? You’re not as useless at magic as I thought, which is a start. Maybe we can beat a few more useful talents out of you.”

“You….” Eren closed his eyes and slumped against his lover. “Why do I put up with this abuse?”

“What abuse? So fucking spoiled you are.” Levi’s arms snaked beneath the duvet to wrap around his waist. “Even spent half the day in bed, you lazy shit.”

“Hmm, because I did something you can’t,” Eren pointed out as his neck was nuzzled. “So I don’t want to… oh, that feels good.” He dug his fingers into Levi’s muscular shoulders as pleasure skittered along his nerves and desire thrummed through his body and inside his head.

“Of course it does.” He could feel Levi’s smirk against his skin and amusement as if it was his own. “Hmm, maybe you being a clingy shit isn’t so bad.”

Eren opened his eyes to glare as he grew out his nails long enough to dig them into the bastard’s skin. “Shut up.” Someone needed to learn when to keep his mouth shut about things.

“Eloquent as always.” Levi pushed aside the duvet he’d just fussed with a few minutes ago so he could pull Eren in close. “Now, we going to fuck or what?”

Laughing at the absurdity of the moment, at the mix of desire and annoyance that flowed into him, Eren grinned as he wrapped his legs and arms around his ‘eloquent’ boyfriend. “Yeah, why not. You won me over with your sweet-talk.”

“Fucking brat,” Levi muttered as he brushed their lips together. “You’re the one who needs to shut up.”

Eren figured he’d let the asshole have the last word for the time being, more than happy to lose himself to dual passion and pleasure he was feeling and the wonderful magic coiling around him; that and Levi was getting really good at this sex stuff. Not that he’d tell the man, who already had too big a head and all from being the ‘great’ Levi. No, he’d just… ooh yeah, really getting good at all of this, he thought as he ended up on his back with Levi’s lips against his neck and hand around his cock, all worries fading away at the moment.

*******

“Aw, come on, you really think someone is following us?”

Annie rested her back against a tree as she tabbed through her phone’s Tumblr app and let the dynamic duo answer the idiot’s question. “I think if we’re taking out the largest magic organization around that it doesn’t hurt to be a bit cautious,” Reiner answered with a hint of frustration.

At his side as always, Berthold waved his hands about in a placating manner. “Wa-wards are always a good idea, even if you helped to cover up o-our trail back there.”

Hitch rolled her eyes and brushed her hands over her jean-clad hips. “Whatever, as long as you don’t expect me to help since I already did my job. Besides, not like there’s any spirits around here for me to set on watch.” She flipped back some light brown curls for added emphasis before digging her own phone out of the back pocket of her tight jeans and pretended to ignore Reiner and Bertolt while tapping away at the screen with a manicured nail.

Reiner shot Annie a loaded look that clearly asked ‘do we really need this pain the ass?’, to which Annie narrowed her eyes to convey ‘for now’. Thanks to the inherent fear and prejudice against necromancers because of their talents, that particular strain of magic was hard to come by these days, so they had to make do with what they could find, and that was Hitch; Annie had heard of a Levi Ackerman out there somewhere, but the bastard had gone to ground well enough to be untraceable – that and she suspected that he might be powerful enough to not be easily swayed by a mere shifter. All it had taken was for Annie to cross paths with Hitch and the girl had followed her as if a puppy trailing after a juicy bone, eager to figure out the strange ‘magic’ she’d never encountered before.

There was a spark of remorse about using the girl, but the fact that the necromancer had pranced so happily to her own oblivion did alleviate some of the guilt – that and Hitch took an obvious joy in the death that they left behind in their wake. There was a reason why Annie, Bertolt and Reiner were doing what they did, a cause they believed in… Hitch just enjoyed the mayhem and destruction.

“If there’s no spirits then you can stand there and use your own damn eyes and ears to watch out for any trouble, yes?” Reiner glared at Hitch until she gave him the finger and pulled out some earbuds from the pocket of her red leather jacket, which she jacked into her phone before shoving into her ears. Once it was clear that she had every intention of ignoring him and everything else around them, Reiner grunted before stalking back to Bert’s side.

Annie thumbed through her phone for a few more minutes before she went to join her friends, her senses sharpened to make sure that Hitch wasn’t putting up a front; she also didn’t sense any of the girl’s magic and so believed the line about there not being any spirits around the woods.

Once they were far enough way so Hitch couldn’t hear them, she shoved her phone into the pocket of her old military-style jacket and nodded at Reiner. “Today didn’t give us the leads that we’d hoped for.”

“I know.” He rubbed his right hand over his tightly cropped blond hair and sighed. “I don’t think Reiss has a clue where Eren is at, which isn’t good.”

Bert reached out to give his boyfriend’s arm a squeeze, a faint blush spreading across his freckled face. “At least we know they’re just as clueless, yes?”

Someone liked to look on the ‘bright side’, didn’t they? Annie extended a claw which she used to clean beneath her other nails as she stared off into the distance. “Doesn’t mean that some other organization didn’t get their hands on him while we’ve been dragging our feet.”

Reiner scoffed as he brushed his hands together. “We would have heard something by now – they would have been crowing about having a pet shifter or sending him out on missions.”

“*If* they broke him already, and it sounds as if this Eren is a stubborn one,” she reminded him. “Whatever Grisha’s faults, he didn’t raise a weakling.”

Reiner’s face flushed with anger as he glanced in Hitch’s direction. “No, he just hid his son away from us after finding out what he was, which was-“ He let out a shuddering breath and shook his head. “We need to find him, and soon, since it’s clear that every other fucking mage is after him.”

“I thought that’s what we were doing.” Annie sighed when Reiner bared his teeth at her and Bert hurried to calm down the hothead. “Fine, we need to find someone higher up in the Reiss hierarchy, someone who knows why those idiots are rushing around all of a sudden – it’s clear that something happened with Eren but we can’t get any decent answers out of the worker bees.” She flexed her claws before she willed her hands to shift back to normal. “We need to know why they’re combing this area for him.”

Reiner grasped Bert’s hands between his own and stilled. “That could be a bit tricky.”

“I thought the benefit of being a shifter was that we could handle ‘tricky’,” Annie shot back. “Time to stop working hard and to start working smart.”

That prompted a smile from Bert and a chuckle from Reiner. “Okay, you have a point. It’ll take a bit of effort to track down someone in the Reiss chain that might know enough, but yeah, we’re getting nowhere slaughtering the grunts.”

“So we start on the next up the food chain.” Maybe they would have a clue why the trail Eren had been leaving behind the last few weeks had suddenly vanished into the thin air; it bothered Annie, bothered her greatly. If only they had set out for him a month or so earlier than they had, then they would have him in their grasp by now and able to return home by now; Eren would be with his own kind, and there would be no risk of all that power being in the hands of those who were unworthy of it. Yet they hadn’t known until recently that Grisha had ‘defected’, that he had turned his back on them and that his son… oh, his son. She clenched her hand for a moment before she forced it back open, forced her emotions to be calm and thoughts placid. “We’ll manage.”

“Ye-yes, we will.” Bert leaned against Reiner for a second or two before stepping aside. “It’ll be difficult but we’ll do it. What else can we do?” He sounded a bit forlorn, but he was right in that they had no other option.

Reiner motioned Annie to come closer. “You have any ideas for our targets then?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” She reached for her phone as she stepped forward, something akin to relief flooding into her as they set about to doing something, *anything*, that would move them on to completing this mission. Something that would allow them all to return home and ensure their kind’s future.

*******

Mikasa wanted to punch something as a means to vent the extreme frustration she felt just then; after driving almost non-stop to Karanese, only pulling over for fuel and the basic necessities, they’d arrived at the city to find no sign of Eren. They’d just finished searching the homeless shelters in case he was crashing there, had hit the public library and every coffee shop they’d come across, and now were on their way to the local park; it didn’t matter what shape Eren was using, she *know* her brother, know his movements, his habits and his quirks, not to mention the unmistakable feel of his magic. If she was close enough to him, she’d know it and there had been no trace of him, none at all.

There wasn’t even a sign of anyone from Reiss, which was just as frustrating, because that seemed to indicate that Eren had been and gone. “Dammit, where did he go? We need some idea of a trail to follow.”

Beside her, Armin finished the last of the coffee he’d bought at the most recent shop they’d search and threw it into the trash bin as they walked past. “We’ll find him, even if we have to dose a local member of the… erm, club.” He hugged the ever-present leather satchel which held a good bit of his potions closer to his body. “You know how he is, he must have done something to cause a scene that they know about.”

She smiled a little at that comment, well acquainted with how hot-tempered her brother could be at times, and prone to hasty decisions. It was the latter that had led them to this mess – Eren becoming so worried about her and Armin being hurt because of him, of them lacking a ‘proper’ life since they’d joined him on the run that he’d slipped away that awful night while she’d been distracted by Armin’s wound. Part of her understood why he’d done it, and part of her loved that side of her brother… but oooh she was going to smack him so hard and latch a permanent thread onto him as soon as they found the idiot. Never again. Never again was she letting him out of her sight.

“I wonder if he might have gone on to Rose next – maybe he figures if the Reiss organization is after him, they’ll back off if he’s in the Reeves territory.” It wouldn’t be an ideal plan, but she could see her foolhardy brother doing something like that.

Armin groaned as if pain and rubbed at his temples for a few seconds. “If he did, I’m going to make him drink my foulest tasting potion even if they don’t have much effect on him. Yeah, that does sound like an Eren plan, so let’s hope he’s running around the park as some mutt and conning people into giving him their lunches. I really don’t want to get caught up in a fight like that right now.”

Mikasa patted her friend on the back as they hurried toward the park, the wind catching on her red scarf and causing her to wrap it tighter around her neck. The weather was turning colder, and in a few more weeks fall would be over, it would be time for snow and darkness; she couldn’t bear the thought of Eren out there alone for another winter.

They were huddled inside their coats by the time they reached the park, with the sky shading to dark blues and purples as the sun began to set. Between the cooler temperatures and the fading daylight, there weren’t too many people in the park and the few visitors there were, were heading to the exits as Mikasa and Armin walked past one of the open gates. As befitted one of the larger cities like Karanese, the park entrance was filled with benches, well-trimmed trees and various signs that marked the paths people could take through the expansive greenery.

“Are you sensing anything?” Armin tugged on the edges of the leather gloves he wore as he glanced around the park.

“No, but if he’s here and in an animal form, he might be deeper inside since it’s getting dark.” Mikasa frowned at a couple of the retreating figures, one of them being tugged by a large dog on a leash, since there wasn’t much she could do with her magic while there were witnesses about – ‘normal’ witnesses. “We’ll have to wait until it’s a bit more deserted and then see if we can’t flush anything out.” If Eren wasn’t here perhaps a were was, someone who could be questioned.

“All right.” Armin’s right hand slipped inside the leather satchel, most likely in search of a truth potion or something else they could use on anyone they captured. “I guess this is better than that time we crawled all around the abandoned warehouses in the Orvud district.”

That prompted a stifled laugh from her. “Yes, much less rats and cockroaches. He’s going to have to work hard to make this up to us.” In all honesty, she didn’t care about the last couple of years spent chasing after him, she just wanted her brother back safe and whole.

“Oh yes, I think Eren’s just agreed to three years of testing my potions for me in return for all of our suffering,” Armin agreed as they headed down one of the paths at random. “I don’t care how much he complains about being a lab rat, he’s going to do it.” Armin sounded rather pleased at the thought, a wide grin spreading across his handsome face as he patted his precious satchel.

It never was wise to annoy an alchemist, and Armin had spent a lot of sleepless nights figuring out just how he wanted to get back at Eren for making them so worried – Mikasa almost felt sorry for her brother. Almost. “He’ll whine a lot but he’ll know that it’s his own-“ Her back went stiff as she felt a brush of unfamiliar magic; beside her, Armin came to a halt and slid his hand inside the satchel while glancing around.

She thought she sensed two different types of magic, one more animalistic than the other, and after a couple of seconds, two people appeared around the upcoming bend of the trail. One of them was male, and huge at that, easily a head taller than Mikasa and Armin with broad shoulders and a powerful build. He came to a halt in front of them, his face overshadowed by shaggy blond hair and close-trimmed beard and mustache, but Mikasa swore that his jaw lifted up and that he took a deep breath; he was were.

His companion was a woman close to Mikasa’s height and blonde as well, with her hair cut short and worn mostly off of her face. Like the man, she dressed in a utilitarian style, in a grey trench coat and jeans, though she wore ankle boats to his dark sneakers. There was a hint of something ‘calm’ to her magic, at least to moment, so Mikasa pegged her as a mage, and probably one who knew how to fight due to her trim build and cautious stance.

The were finished sniffing and grunted. “Not Reiss.” His voice was deep and his eyes flashed bright green. “But something odd.” He stared at Mikasa as he spoke.

She stiffened upon hearing those words and let the magic build inside of her. “Why are you here?”

The woman tilted her head to the side and offered up a bland smile. “Funny, we were wondering much the same thing about the two of you.” Her hands came out of the pockets of the coat and blue sparks began to glow in her eyes as the sense of magic grew stronger. “Especially since we found a couple of dead were buried in the woods back there.”

Mikasa and Armin were still as the news sunk in, but they had fought alone together for almost three years, and with Eren for another twelve; they knew each other’s reactions as well as their own and they were well acquainted with how situations such as this usually went for them. Moving as one, Mikasa unleashed her threads while Armin threw down a potion that made the woman gag and the were hiss as if scalded, buying them both some time as the strangers recoiled.

The woman turned out to be a water mage, since she called up the humidity in the air to act as a shield against Armin’s potion – too bad it didn’t do much against Mikasa’s enchanted threads. However, there was a tearing sound as the were shifted, bulking up into something almost as terrifying as Eren’s main fighting shape, into a mass of fur and muscle, of claws and fangs.

“Is he a tiger?” Armin sounded more intrigued than panicked as he lobbed another potion through the air, something that made the were yowl and seemed to melt off a good bit of his fur and muscle.

“Fangs and coloring is all wrong, looks more primal than that.” Mikasa used her threads to counteract a spell that the mage had cast, the white strands coming together as if a ward, then sent out others to lash out at their attackers. “You know what organization they belong to?”

“Not a clue, no brand that I can see.” Armin paused to think for a moment before fetching a particular potion from the bag. “Here, smash this into him, it’ll put him down good.”

She wasn’t going to ask – unlike Eren who had some weird semi-immunity to Armin’s concoctions, she’d learned the hard way that his stuff was not to be messed with in any form and that they always worked as intended… if not then some. Thinning the ‘shield’ a little to see that the mage was helping the were with whatever it was that Armin had hit him with before, Mikasa readied a spell to distract the mage while taking a few running steps forward and then used a couple of her threads like tentacles to slam the glass vial of potion right into the were’s chest before he could claw out her heart. She ducked under his huge right arm and then jumped back up, white threads once more warding her against the mage’s attack, in time to see the were weave about and fall onto the ground.

“Mike!”

The mage aborted her attack and rushed over to the were, who slowly shifted back into a more human shape from where he was laid out on the ground. “What did you do to him?”

Armin approached Mikasa, another glass vial held in his hand. “Nothing too serious, he’s just sleeping for now.” As he spoke, Mikasa had a couple of her threads wrap around the mage to prevent any more attacks.

The woman appeared more upset than furious as she stared up at them from the kneeling position at the were’s side. “Who are you? We just wanted to question you!”

“You mentioned dead were, you were about to blame us!” Mikasa struggled to keep the threads from tightening too much around the woman, who shook her head in response.

“No, whoever killed them used claws, which you don’t have.” She shuddered as she glanced down at the comatose were before looking up at Mikasa. “You’re… what, you’re a Jorōgumo? I didn’t think there were any left around here.”

Armin gripped Mikasa’s left shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze while she rubbed the red scarf across her chin. “My mother was one of the last.”

For a moment something resembling pity flashed across the mage’s face before she shook her head again. “It wasn’t your type of magic that killed those were, nor was it alchemy.” She glanced at Armin with respect before bowing her head. “Look, we’re… I don’t think we’re after you, though we thought you might have a few answers.”

“That’s nice, but *we* are looking for something as well.” Mikasa’s fingers clenched in the scarf as she wondered if those were had been killed because of Eren, if this was another case of more dead ends cropping up when they were so close to re-establishing his trail. If that was the case, then why were these two looking into things as well? “Why are you bothering with some dead were? Who are you?”

The mage’s face went blank as she stared up at Mikasa. “I’m not at liberty to tell you that. Please, I don’t think we’re enemies.”

When Mikasa made to step forward, Armin once more gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I’m not so sure about that – you see, we’re searching for someone very important and we’re not going to just walk away.” Armin held up the vial in his hand. “And we can ensure that you tell us exactly what we need to know.”

The mage was quiet as she stared at the vial, and then her eyes went wide and her body rigid. “Who are you? You’re not with Reiss, right? Mike was right about that? And you’re not with them – the ones hunting down-“ She bit her lower lip and shook her head.

Mikasa shook off Armin’s grip and rushed forward to grasp the mage’s coat with her own hands. “Hunting down who? Eren? Do you know where Eren is? Tell us! If he’s hurt because of you I will-”

“Mikasa, don’t hurt her just yet!” Armin rushed over and shoved his way between the two of them. “We need her in good shape for the potion to work!”

“Wait – look, we’re not hurting this… Eren.” The mage’s eyes flared bright but Mikasa’s own magic held the other mage’s at bay for the moment. “He’s a shifter, right? We’re not hurting him, I promise.”

“Of course he’s the shifter! And you better not be hurting him!”

Once again Armin pushed in front of Mikasa. “Wait – you said ‘a shifter’.” He frowned as he held his potion close to his chest. “Not *the* shifter. That’s an odd way of phrasing things. How come?”

“Oh, I’m probably going to be killed for this,” the mage muttered as she glanced at the unconscious were. “But I have to wonder if maybe we’re after the same thing here.” She let out a slow breath before she looked up at them. “I’ll explain as much as I can – I’d appreciate you not using that potion as I’ve friends I’m protecting as well, and maybe we can come to some sort of arrangement once I’m done because honestly? I think we’re both protecting the same person.”

There was a strange feeling inside of Mikasa’s chest, one she realized was hope. “You’re protecting Eren?”

“We weren’t told his name, just that he’s a shifter.” The mage shook her head. “As I said, let me explain. There’s only so much I can tell without going against oaths I swore… at least for now.”

Mikasa exchanged a look with Armin, and she saw the same thing on his face and in his expressive blue eyes that she felt inside – hope warring with caution. “We’ll listen, but if at any point we don’t believe you, I will use this potion,” he warned the woman.

“Fine, but just know that I have some very powerful geas on me that might not go so well with it.” She grimaced and glanced back down at her companion. “It’s best to compromise.”

“Whatever, just tell us about Eren,” Mikasa insisted as she relaxed the threads a little – not that she trusted the mage, just enough to hurry things along. If the mage was telling the truth, then good. If not, then regardless of the geas, Armin would use the potion and they’d move on to the were, scrape together whatever clues they could and follow the leads back to Eren.

*******

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been having fun playing with everyone's magical talents and bloodlines, considering the SnK universe and their personalities. Hope everyone is enjoying the take so far - obviously there will be more of an explanation on Mikasa in the upcoming chapter.


	4. To me, fair friend, you never can be old

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, hopefully there aren't too many typos in this - on vacation but managed to find some time to wrap up this chapter and edit it (the tricky part!). Starting to get things to come together, and hope it makes sense.
> 
> Once again, thank you SO MUCH for the kudos and the comments left on this fic, they are truly appreciated.

*******

“Do you care at all that you’ve utterly ruined the zombie genre for me?” Eren grimaced as he used his enhanced strength to twist off a revenant’s head and gagged at the stench that assailed his hyped-up senses and from just missing a splash of viscous liquid that sprayed from the decaying corpse. “Not to mention my appetite for like, *ever*.” 

“Good, because those assholes can’t write shit about zombies – they get them all wrong.” Levi, his eyes glowing a molten silver and wreathed with ghosts as if enshrouded by a menacing fog, clicked his tongue in disgust. “I mean, where did that whole ‘brains’ thing come from?”

Not this again, Eren thought to himself as he flinched away from a revenant which seemed intent on gutting him; even though he was once more ‘armored’ up in the weird crystal ward, it still took some getting used to that the protective layer was strong enough to deflect the undead’s attack – that and he could only keep up the ‘ward’ for so long. Right now he could feel his strength flagging, and knew that he could put up with either a few more minutes of fighting or one or two more spells.

Which of course Levi knew by now, since he was a vicious bastard. His lips curled up into a smirk as more revenants appeared and he motioned with his hands in Eren’s direction as if readying another spell. 

“Ah come on, how many people has Hange buried around here?” Eren whined as he prepared to dodge.

“Hmm, she’s rather helpful, isn’t she?” Levi shaped the fingers of his right hand into a gun and jerked them up as if firing off a shot, the same time that about five of the revenants rushed at Eren.

Bellowing in anger, Eren concentrated as much energy as he could onto the ‘ward’ around him while lashing out with his clawed hands to tear through his attackers, and felt it when the spell hit him. It almost was pleasant at first, the feel of Levi’s magic, and then he panicked as he felt his ward begin to break apart.

Aw, fuck it. While the magic ate through his ward, he let his own flow and shifted into something small, something that dropped to the ground while the revenants’ focused on where he *used* to be, and used his new form’s paws to flee before they or Levi had the time to realize just what had happened. By the time Levi had figured out that something was wrong, Eren was already within range, his fur colored to blend in with the faded grass and leaves, and bunched up his muscles so he could leap upon his lover.

“What the hell!” Levi sputtered as Eren knocked into his chest but managed to wrap his arms around Eren’s feline form – at least until Eren shifted back to ‘normal’, which sent them both crashing to the ground.

Now naked and laughing over the fact that he finally got one over his lover, Eren lay sprawled out on top of Levi. “The… the look on your face!” He continued to laugh despite Levi’s glower and the smack to his ass.

“I should have you change back so I can skin you and make you into a fur hat or something,” Levi grumbled as he shoved Eren onto his lap so he could sit up, all the while his magic flared about and the revenants and ghosts vanished back into the ether and earth respectively. Eren was still hiccupping with laughter while his lover shrugged out of his black coat and draped the heavy, warm material over his bare shoulders. “You try that on someone else, you’ll be lucky if you only end up collared.”

The imagery that followed the remark helped to sober up Eren, causing him to sigh as he rested against Levi’s solid weight; now that his good humor vanished, the exhaustion from the fight settled in. “Yeah, I know, but I doubt I’ll be throwing myself at some asshole mage, just you.”

“I’m so blessed.” Levi’s deep voice practically dripped with sarcasm, yet he rubbed at the nape of Eren’s neck as if he was still in cat form. “Just can’t resist me, can you?”

Eren banged his head against Levi’s chest a couple of times as he whined again, which prompted a rare chuckle from his boyfriend. “Yeah, thought so. I’ll give you ten minutes to rest and then we’ll try it again, see if you can last half an hour this time.”

Sliding his arms around Levi’s waist, Eren frowned as he looked up at the sadist. “You know, I think I should be concerned about how eager you are to tear me into pieces. That shows signs of a person with deep-seated issues. Very deep-seated and disturbing issues.” He yelped when he received a rather firm smack on the ass for his observation.

“Ha ha, says the brat with more than a few deep-seated, *daddy*-related issues himself.”

At first Eren gasped in shock, and then he narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. “You did *not* just go there, Mr. OCD.”

“I did indeed, and you’re spouting nonsense – I’m not OCD.”

“You’re – gah! You probably call up the dead in order of how decomposed they are!”

“You really are fucking brain-dead aren’t you?”

“I have to be to put up with you!” Magic coiled around Eren, his and Levi’s, so thick that it was almost too difficult to breathe. Yet despite the pressure, despite the anger, there was also desire and… and something, something that kept them there, his arms around Levi’s waist and Levi’s hands on his hips, their eyes locked together as if the outside world didn’t exist. “You… just.. gah!”

“See, brain-dead.” Levi sneered as his right hand pried itself free from Eren’s hip to bury itself in Eren’s hair instead. “Even worse - not a thing left for me to reanimate.”

“Ha, ha.” Eren leaned in until he could feel Levi’s breath across his face. “You’re the one who scrambles them so much. All your fault.”

“Your life, so hard,” Levi murmured as he brushed his lips along Eren’s jaw.

“Wuh-we can’t all be the ‘great’ Levi. Ooh, yeah, more.” The anger dissipated, overwhelmed by desire, pleasure and need. Eren forgot about the argument, the cold and everything else as he sought out Levi’s chapped lips. He licked at their slight roughness before they parted open, and then they pressed against his own with a passion matched by what flowed into him, by the way cool hands slid along his naked body and made him moan as-

“Shit!”

Dazed as much by the sudden loss of his lover as the way he’d been dumped onto his ass, Eren blinked in shock as Levi jumped to his feet, and then recoiled as the black coat was thrown over his head. “Wah?”

“Someone’s coming!”

“Huh?” Eren draped the coat over his shoulders as he stood up. “Do you know them?”

His eyes burning silver as he used his talent, Levi paused for a moment as if ‘seeing’ something. “I… the person driving the car is familiar, yes, but I can’t make out who else is in the car. More importantly, I don’t know why they’re here.” As he, spoke, Hange and Erwin raced out of the house.

“Someone hit the outer ward!” Hange was busy tugging on a ratty brown overcoat while Erwin hadn’t bothered with any outerwear, though hellfire sparked at his hands. “Your sentry picking up anything yet?”

“Yeah, it’s Mike.” Levi turned toward Erwin with his eyes still aglow. “You call him here for something?”

“No, so this is a bit worrisome.” A hint of brilliant blue sparked in the mage’s eyes as well. “He would have texted at the least to warn us.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.” Levi turned toward Eren and glared. “Get in the house.”

“No, not if he’s here for me.” When Levi’s expression went up a notch on the nasty scale, Eren shrugged his arms into the coat and shook his head. “Look, I’m not going to let you fight without me, okay? But I’ll do this at least.” He allowed his appearance to shift until he was even smaller than ‘normal’ and more androgynous, so anyone looking for ‘Eren Jaeger’ could mistake him for a young child visiting Hange; this form had bought him a few precious seconds in the past, since a lot of people had trouble harming someone so ‘young’ while he had no problems in tearing out their throat while they wavered.

Levi made a gagging sound as he rubbed at his eyes. “Brat… we’re going to have a talk later, once I’m done talking a very hot shower.”

“Huh?” What did that mean?

Before he got a decent explanation, Hange rushed toward the driveway. “I’m picking up… ah, four magic signatures through the ward? Two of them are Mike and Nanaba, but I don’t know the other two.”

Levi broke off his staring contest with Eren to look down the driveway, where a large black SUV could be seen headed their way. “You’re right, I don’t know the other two – though one of them….” His frown deepened and the dead he’d just sent into the earth a short time ago once more rumbled back to the surface.

“Levi,” Erwin called out as he approached the necromancer. “Wait until we find out what they’re doing with Mike and Nanaba.” The two men exchanged a terse set of looks until Levi clicked his tongue and reached for Eren, who yelped as he was yanked over to his lover’s side.

“Don’t say a damn thing and if I tell you to run, you better get your ass into the house and ward the hell out of it, you understand?” When Eren opened his mouth, Levi tightened his hold on Eren’s wrist. “Argue later, when everyone’s dead.”

Eren almost asked ‘including you,’ but couldn’t risk the lousy joke coming true so he merely nodded instead.

The SUV took its time coming down the drive as if unwilling to risk surprising them, which didn’t seem like something an enemy would be concerned about. The closer it came, the more Eren felt something… something familiar about it. He frowned at the vehicle and inched away from Levi, wanting to get clear from his lover’s overwhelming sense of magic and concern just then, but Levi jerked him back and gave him a scowl so he huffed in annoyance. Dammit, if he could just get away from Levi’s magic….

The vehicle came to a stop, the rumble of its engine cutting off and casting an eerie silence over the yard. Eren held his breath as he waited for what happened next, attention focused on the large shape he could make out through the partially tinted glass, and then the driver’s side door creaked opened. A very tall were stepped out, glowing green eyes peeping out through shaggy bangs to stare in Erwin’s direction. “Hey.”

Erwin’s sigh was loud and rather pained. “Of course you would start off this mess with a ‘hey’. Don’t you think we deserve more than that?”

The were shrugged. “Sorry?”

“Tell the others to get the fuck out here,” Levi snapped, his voice utterly vicious and his eyes blazing like twin stars. “Or I’ll rip their souls out on the count of three, immediately if they fuck with Nanaba.”

“Ah-“

“One.” Levi didn’t give this Mike a chance to explain. Eren could feel the intense fury and a mix of twisted up emotions from his lover, such a strong sense of need, a drive to protect and… and… He shook his head, confused and stunned and a little frightened.

“Levi, you should-“

“Two.” Spirits swirled around Levi and Eren, preventing Hange and Erwin from approaching. “You think I’m kidding? Thr-“

The doors to the SUV burst open as its occupants spilled out, one of them falling onto the ground in their haste. Still in shock over how far Levi was about to go in order to protect him, it took Eren a few seconds to recognize who the strangers were – not until one of them called out his name.

“Eren? Eren! Are you all right?” Mikasa pulled Armin onto his feet and then ran forward, her dark eyes bright with unshed tears and a hopeful smile on her face – at least until two revenants stepped into her path as an obvious wall. “Eren!” Her eyes flashed silver as white threads lashed from her hands at the undead to knock them down, but there were more to take their place.

“Mikasa!” Eren latched on to Levi’s arm as his sister fought with the undead, the same time that Armin attempted to pull a furious Mikasa back. “Levi, please, she’s my sister!”

“She’s a fucking- wait, what?” More spirits swirled in the air as if to ready to descend wherever Levi directed them, while Levi gaped at Eren. “Did you say ‘sister’?”

“Yes, that’s my sister and friend there, so don’t kill them!”

Levi clicked his tongue and jerked his left hand through his hair as he directed his attention back at the two; Mikasa was still tearing apart the revenants in front of her with her gleaming threads while screaming about Eren and Armin appeared to be debating if he should dose her with a potion. “Oi! Calm the fuck down, will you?” With one motion of his hand, Levi once more settled all of the dead except for a few spirits.

“Finally,” Mike grunted from where he stood beside Erwin and Hange, along with another woman. Meanwhile, Mikasa and Armin stared with what appeared to be disbelief at the vanquished revenants for a moment before Mikasa charged forward at Eren.

Sighing as he patted Levi on the arm then stepping aside, Eren began to shift back to ‘normal’ and braced himself for what would come next, and still was almost knocked to the ground when Mikasa all but threw herself onto him. “Heya,” he murmured into her neck when she latched onto him.

“It’s you, it’s really you, gonna kill you, so glad it’s you, don’t ever leave me again, it’s you,” she babbled into his hair as she nearly choked the breath out of him.

“Yeah, I missed you, too.” The feel of her magic settled against him, so familiar and welcome and… somehow a little ‘off’. It used to be one of the best things in his world, something that could always calm him down and center him, and yet… yet something was missing to it now. Something wasn’t quite ‘right’. Something made him hug her back while looking over at Levi, who stood there all stiff-spined and scowling until he noticed Eren’s gaze, and then the asshole rolled his eyes and relaxed.

The moment Mikasa sniffed and pulled away a little, another weight smashed into Eren and he found himself laughing as Armin banged their foreheads together. “You are in *so* much trouble,” his best friend warned. “Don’t ever do that again.” Armin’s fingers dug into Eren’s right shoulder, and Eren could hear the strain to his friend’s voice as well as the relief.

“I’m sorry.” He was, too, was sorry about all the trouble and worry he’d put them through, but he wouldn’t take back the choice he’d made that night when his hands had been sticky with Armin’s blood and his shirt still damp with the tears Mikasa had cried when she thought they’d lose their only real friend in the world. “It’s okay now.”

“No it’s not, I’m going to kill you once I stop being so happy to see you,” Armin warned him as he continued to hug him tight. “Almost three years.”

“Yeah, again, sorry.” Eren hugged them both back and wondered if he could pull the cat trick again. “But, uhm, it really was for the best?”

“You’re an idiot.” Mikasa hugged him even tighter than before. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”

“Ah, I love you, too, but-“

“And that’s enough of this shit.” Eren yelped as something cold wrapped around him and shoved Mikasa and Armin away, and the next thing he knew he was back at Levi’s side – a very annoyed Levi’s side. “Nice to meet you, he’s fine, now fuck off.”

Yep, that was his oh so sensitive boyfriend there, Eren thought as he rubbed at his eyes with the palm of his right hand. When he dropped his hand, he found Armin staring at them with his jaw agape and Mikasa with murder in her eyes. “Mikasa, Armin, this is Levi. I take it you already know Mike and… Naba?” Was that the name Levi had mentioned earlier?

“Yeah, they sorta kidnapped us,” the blonde woman commented, while Mikasa took a step forward as she cast out her threads.

“Levi? As in Levi *Ackerman*?”

Meanwhile, Levi attempted to shove Eren behind him while the spirits whirled even faster around them. “What the hell do you mean, ‘kidnapped’?”

“You *are* the necromancer! Get away from my brother!” Mikasa’s eyes burned silver as several threads shot out toward Levi, the same time that the spirits seemed to coalesce around her; Eren felt his chest constrict at the thought of Levi and Mikasa fighting each other even as their magic pressed against him and so let out a scream, the sound bursting forth from his throat the same time as the earth rumbled and those weird tendrils once more burst into being.

This time they didn’t seem to target anyone, they just slashed through the air between Mikasa and Levi and… and… and wherever the spirits or white threads came into contacts with the things, the tendrils… absorbed them. Eren shuddered as he felt Mikasa and Levi’s magic sink into the tendrils, into *him*, and moaned as he twisted about and half collapsed against Levi. It felt odd, felt *unsettling* - more so when it was Mikasa’s magic burning into him.

“You okay?” Levi’s strong hands wrapped around his arms and held him upright, even gave him a little bit of a shake. “What the fuck are you doing now?”

“Don’t know.” Eren murmured as he rested his head against Levi’s shoulder, now that the only sense of his lover’s magic came from the man himself, and then hissed when he felt more of Mikasa’s magic burn into him. “Ah!”

“Get away from him! Stop hurting him!”

There was another flare of magic, this time the strange, frightening heat of Erwin’s hellfire, but it was distant enough that Levi’s own cool, wonderful magic acted as a buffer. “Miss, I think right now that you’re the one hurting him so stop before I do something we’ll all regret.”

“Don’t you-“

“Mikasa, I… I think he’s right. I think you’re fighting Eren’s magic right now.”

“What?” Mikasa sounded incredulous but the burn of her magic stopped, which was all Eren cared about at the moment. While he concentrated on breathing and the feel of Levi’s hand stroking through his hair, Levi’s concern and magic pouring over him, he felt Hange’s magic approach and sighed.

Levi’s body stiffened, so he guessed that his boyfriend did something to cause Hange to halt what felt to be a few feet away. “You all right, Eren-honey? That’s an impressive bit of magic there.”

“No blood,” he muttered as he forced his head to lift from Levi’s shoulder. He found Hange looking at him with a concerned expression while Mikasa and Armin were held at bay by both those weird tendrils and a small wall of hellfire. Levi had the ‘this is the blank expression I wear when I’m really pissed off beyond belief’ expression on his face he usually reserved for when he found the sink full of dirty dishes or towels left on the bathroom floor, while Erwin was once more pinching the bridge of his nose.

Upon hearing him, a slight smile cracked over Hange’s face. “Dammit, Levi, you’re ruining the poor kid.”

“No, just managing to beat some brains into him after all.” Levi massaged the back of Eren’s neck as he glanced past the writhing tendrils. "You two going to calm the fuck down or what? And why the hell didn’t you eat them, Mike?” Oh yeah, despite the ‘calm’ façade, he was pissed as all hell.

Having retreated to the SUV, Mike grunted once and shook his head. “Said she was his sister. Plus, she smells like you.”

Levi’s hand stilled on the back of Eren’s neck for a moment as he clicked his tongue. “The fuck? I think you’ve inhaled too much catnip.” He waved aside Mike’s comment with his free hand and then stabbed it in Mikasa’s direction. “Seriously, the last thing we need is a bunch of shitty brats showing up when we worked hard to cover Eren’s trail, so get a good eyeful and then fuck off.”

Several threads shot out from Mikasa’s hands, but when the tendrils snatched at them and caused Eren to moan again, she gasped and got her talent under control. Armin wrapped an arm around her shoulder while she clutched at the red scarf Eren could still remember giving her so long ago and shook his head. “No, the three of us made sure to use protection wards and misguidance spells the whole way here, all right? Eren’s dear to us, so there’s no way we’d risk him like that.”

“I’m not a thing, okay?” Eren muttered as he rubbed at his sore head. “Right here ya know.”

Levi massaged a little too hard at the nape of his neck. “You’re a pain in the ass, you are. How long you going to have that shit wave about?” When Mikasa began to seethe, probably at how Levi was speaking to him, Eren shook his head and held up his right hand to keep her from starting another fight.

“I don’t know – what are they in the first place?”

As if on cue, Hange rushed forward. “I think we just saw a new facet to your ‘key’ nature!” She poked at them and laughed as they reacted to her presence. “Not only a physical defense, but it’s amazing how they absorb magic this time around!” Before Eren could stop her, he felt a rush of her magic and jerked in shock at the tendrils ‘ate’ whatever spell she threw at them. “Oh! That was- ow!” She turned to glare at Levi for whatever he’d done to her – Eren’s sight had been too blurry just then to see. “What was that for?”

“The next person who lobs a spell at those things is going to be gutted, understood?” Levi wrapped his arm around Eren’s waist to help steady him on his feet. “You okay, brat?”

“Fine,” Eren gritted out. “Jus’ fine.” The funny thing was, other than the nausea and the nasty headache, he did feel fine – the exhaustion from fighting Levi earlier was completely gone. It had just felt like… like something tearing into him when Hange’s magic had been absorbed – in fact, the only magic to not hurt or affect him in some way had been Levi’s. “Don’t wanna take in any more magic, ‘kay?”

“Wait, *you’re* absorbing through the tendrils?” Hange sounded even more excited than before. “That’s *incredible*! We have to-“

“Try something else and I really will eviscerate you, understood?”

Something, perhaps the eerie flatness in Levi’s voice, convinced Hange that he was serious, since she gave a humorless laugh and backed away from the tendrils. “Fine, okay, no more fun stuff today.”

Meanwhile, Mikasa and Armin seemed to realize that if they weren't casting any magic, that they could skirt around the tendrils and approach Eren, which they did with some caution. Mikasa nearly stumbled in her haste to reach Eren, only to come to a halt just out of arm’s reach when Levi threw out a hand to stop her. “Don’t even think about it – I’ll gut you, too, in a second.”

“Levi,” Eren warned as he tugged at the arm around his waist. “Sister,” he reminded in a weary voice.

“Yeah, well, she’s even more of a pain in the ass than you.”

“Don’t you speak to him-“

“Can you be even more of an ass-“

Just then blue flames burst into being everywhere, which caused Eren to hiss in pain and clutch at his head while Levi ground out Erwin’s name.

“Right now, *all* of you are behaving like children, and I am losing what little patience I have.” The flames flickered low but didn’t entirely burn out as Erwin folded his arms over his broad chest, his eyes glowing bright in the grave set to his face. “Now, you will remain quiet.” He seemed to stare at Levi and Mikasa for a few seconds longer than everyone else after saying that. “Levi will take care of the… well, see to Eren’s latest trick, and then we will all go into the house where we will discuss this new development like civilized adults or else I will reduce to ash anyone foolish enough to complain, understood?”

Levi’s arms tightened around Eren and Eren could feel his lover’s annoyance flare right before there was an amused sort of acceptance. “Always the fucking drama queen, Smith.”

“That’s not remaining quiet, Levi.” Yet Erwin’s lips twitched upward, just the slightest bit.

“Yeah, but I’m doing what you said, so consider it a win.” He patted Eren on the hip before he bustled him over to Hange. “No funny stuff,” he told the blood witch while glaring at Mikasa, while Eren sighed before he smiled at his furious sister.

“Isn’t Erwin so hot when he gets all scary demanding?” Hange cooed as she draped her arms over Eren’s shoulders. “And hey, you really do need to give me some blood.”

Eren huddled inside of Levi’s coat and wondered what he’d done in a past life to deserve this one, what with the crazy blood witch hanging all over him, his sister and best friend back in his life – okay, not such a bad thing except they weren’t all happy with him about the whole leaving thing – and the weird magic powers. That wasn’t even counting how everyone seemed to want him for being a ‘key’ or whatever. So he just sighed again and focused on watching Levi approach the weird tendrils that he’d created, a frown on his lover’s face as Levi studied them, and then Levi did the same thing as back in the kitchen and reached out to touch one of the waving… whatever. After a few seconds, all of the tendrils stopped moving and crumbled to ash, though Levi drew in a deep, shuddering breath and shook his head. “Fuck, but that… shit.” He scrubbed at his face with the palms of his hands while Eren felt a jolt of unease and pain run through him.

“Is something wrong?” Erwin took two long steps over to Levi and placed a tentative hand on the necromancer’s shoulder.

“Just… felt a rush at the end there, think it was the leftovers of yours, Hange’s and what’s her name’s magics.” Levi jerked his chin in Mikasa’s direction. “No wonder the brat’s all messed up if he was getting the full brunt of that.”

Erwin’s frown increased as he pulled away. “All right, everyone in the house, now. Once we’re inside, I want the wards up all the way.” He waited until Mike came alongside to speak again. “Was what the boy said correct – you did everything to cover your trail?”

Mike nodded to the blonde mage. “I drove, but yeah, they were casting and throwing potions the entire way. Soon as they heard we were taking them to Eren, they made sure nothing could follow.”

“I swear to you that it’s safe,” the mage added. “All three of us worked to wipe out the trail.”

Meanwhile, Levi stalked over to grab Eren back from Hange, just before Mikasa could do so. “Nice to see that they’re good for something.”

“We would never put Eren in danger! I don’t understand why he’s even with you – you, a *necromancer*!” Mikasa hurried to catch up with Eren and tugged at the sleeve of Levi’s coat. “We’re here now, we can take care of you.”

“Yeah, two more brats, just what he needs – if you could have taken care of him in the first place, he wouldn’t have left your asses behind, would he?”

Eren knocked an elbow into Levi’s ribs for that comment, even if it was the truth. “Don’t talk to my sister that way! And so what if Levi’s a necromancer?” He rubbed at his head, torn between the anger and possessiveness he felt from Levi and the hurt he saw on Mikasa’s face. “Just… just…”

Always the quiet, quick one, Armin managed to sneak in and pry him from Levi, then led him further into the house. “Look, just sit down for a moment, okay?” There was an understanding smile on his friend’s face, and Eren drank in the familiar feel of Armin’s calm magic. “Bit of a shock today, yeah?”

“I missed you guys so much,” Eren admitted as he hugged Armin to him. “I didn’t want to leave you, I really didn’t, but I just… what if you died because of me? I couldn’t take it, seeing you like that.” Tears prickled in his eyes and threatened to spill forth, but Eren pushed them back. “It hurt less to move on without you than lose you forever.”

Armin smacked him on the back as he returned the hug. “You idiot, how were we to know if you were still alive out there? We’re stronger together than apart.” He sniffled as if holding back tears himself. “You don’t get to be the only one making sacrifices.” He sniffed again as he pulled away – and yelped as he got jerked out of the chair by Levi.

“Cute. Is reunion time over?” Uh-oh, someone was not happy. As Eren offered his boyfriend a nervous smile, Mikasa latched onto him and he felt Levi’s anger double.

“Why do you care so much? You might be helping to protect my brother, but you have no business interfering like this.” She narrowed her eyes as she looked Levi up and down. “Why is a necromancer so interested in a shifter?”

“Oh sweetie, let me count the ways,” Hange commented from a few feet away. “Sixty-nine of them come to mind.”

“How is this behaving like civilized adults?” Erwin demanded to know as he collapsed onto the now vacated couch.

“Huh, what?” Armin, who had gone to Mikasa’s side, glanced back and forth between Hange, Levi and Eren, and his blue eyes went wide as he stared at Eren. “Don’t tell me….”

Annoyed at how everyone was behaving, especially Mikasa and Levi, Eren jerked his hand through his hair and scowled at his sister. “Don’t we have more important things to discuss? And stop insulting Levi just because he’s a necromancer!”

“But they can’t be trusted! Especially him, do you have any idea of the things he’s done?” She reached over to grab onto the soft material of Levi’s coat. “He’s killed a lot of people.”

“Yeah, because those shitstains would have killed me first, now get your hands off my boyfriend,” Levi snapped as he tugged Eren back over to his side.

“And there we have it!” Hange crowed as she pumped her fist into the air. “His first official declaration.”

“Has everyone forgotten the fact that there are people out there murdering mages and were in order to track down Eren, hmm? Am I the only one on target here or what?” Erwin waved his right hand about while pinching the bridge of his nose with his left hand.

The blonde mage stifled a giggle while shoving Mike in the direction of the kitchen. “We’ll go where it’s safe and make some coffee and tea. Be back after the explosion.”

Meanwhile, Eren could feel his sister’s rage and disbelief along with Levi’s smugness and anger. “Look, why does it matter what he is? I trust him, isn’t that enough for you?” He appealed to Armin, who was holding on to Mikasa as if he had a hope of restraining her. “And that his friends brought you to me?”

“How can we be sure that you’re with them – with *him* - of your own will?”

Eren didn’t even give Levi a chance to respond, he yanked his arm free and stomped over to his sister to grab onto the front of her dark blue jacket. “Do you really think I’d let them fuck with me like that? That I’d still be *me* and their lapdog?”

Mikasa’s eyes flared silver for a moment and then she burst into tears as she hugged him to her. “I’m sorry – it’s been so long and we worried about you every day. Then to find you and-“ She hugged him even tighter. “I just wanted you to be safe.”

Eren’s throat grew tight as he hugged her back. “I am,” he forced out as he rubbed at her back. “I promise.” Despite Levi’s annoyance, he held on a little longer. “And Levi’s not that bad, really.”

She sniffed as she let him go with some reluctance. “He better not be.” She frowned as she faced Levi, her hands still on Eren’s shoulders… and then she turned that frown his way. “Wait, something’s not right here.”

Uh-oh, he’d known it would only be a matter of time before someone had noticed. “Ah, so what’s been going on? How did you find me?” He grabbed hold of Mikasa’s wrist with his right hand and latched onto Levi’s arm with his left and dragged them over to the couch, where Erwin was sprawled out; something on his face made the mage grimace b efore standing up with a flourish and moving elsewhere.

“But Eren, you’re sh-“

“Sure happy to see you and Armin! Now tell us all about how you came across Mike and… uhm, Nama?” He made to sit down between Levi and Mikasa, only to be yanked closer to a certain asshole.

“Nanaba,” Levi murmured as he slung his arm across Eren’s shoulders. “Yes, let’s hear the wonderful story about how you kidnapped them, please.”

As if they’d been waiting for that moment, Nanaba and Mike returned from the kitchen with trays in their hands, filled with mugs of tea, coffee and plates full of biscuits. “Well, it wasn’t that much of a kidnapping,” Nanaba explained. “Not after Mike woke up from Armin’s potion and all. We didn’t put up that much of a fight and once they explained about knowing you, we decided to bring them along.”

Perched on the arm of the chair where Hange was seated, Erwin accepted a mug of coffee with a rather displeased expression for his two associates. “Yes, by all means ignore my orders and risk being followed, I do appreciate it.”

Nanaba flushed at the sarcastic tone while Mike grinned at Hange when she snagged a mug and several biscuits. “Told you, she smells like Levi.”

“And I told you to fuck off, you idiot cat.” Levi paused in reaching for a mug of tea from Nanaba and gave Mike the finger. “It’s time you were neutered.”

“No, there really is something to what Mike’s saying.” Nanaba glanced back and forth between Levi and Mikasa while Eren snagged some tea for himself; his head still hurt from whatever he’d done earlier and Levi’s temper was not helping, though being able to curl up next to the grumpy bastard and bask in his magic did soothe the ache somewhat. “I may only be a water mage, but I picked up a few tricks from Hange and one of them is getting a sense of bloodlines. As soon as I saw Mikasa, I had an overwhelming impression of you, Levi.”

“Then you’re as crazy as your partner.” Levi shook his head after shooting a narrowed look Mikasa’s way.

“Yes, I don’t see how anyone can think I resemble *him* at all,” Mikasa muttered into her mug of coffee.

Caught between them, Eren kept any remarks about similar bland expressions to himself, though he caught Armin’s look and noticed how his friend seemed to be struggling to keep from laughing. Just drink your tea, he told himself.

After shoving at least two cookies into her mouth at once, Hange washed them down with coffee and then jumped up. “Well, there’s one way to find out!” she declared, cookie crumbs flying everywhere. “All I need is a little blood.”

“And a shit ton of manners,” Levi complained as he wrinkled his nose in disgust. When Armin looked at Eren with his brows drawn together, Eren mouthed ‘blood witch’ to his friend, who then nodded in understanding.

Hange waved him aside as she approached the couch. “It’ll only take a few seconds to figure out this latest mystery – I mean, clearly Mikasa has some Jorōgumo in her, but there’s something else.”

Drawing back from the crazy woman invading her space, Mikasa glanced Eren’s way for a moment before fussing with her scarf. “Yes, my mother was a Jorōgumo, but my dad… well, he was a latent so he never talked much about his bloodline.”

“Not once?” Hange began to dig through the pouch on her belt, where she tended to keep ‘useful’ things while training Eren – aka sharp stabby stuff he did his best to avoid.

He didn’t need to see his sister’s face to know about the painful memories that the question raised. “Her parents died when she was young, that’s why my parents took her in,” he snapped with a rare bit of heat at Hange. “Leave it be.” He felt Levi’s arm tighten around his shoulders while Hange blinked at him in surprise.

“Ah, okay, yeah, stuff like that tends to leave a lot of unanswered questions.” Hange paused to gaze at the lancet in her hand for a few seconds before she forced a grin on her face. “But that’s where a talent like mine comes in hand, yes? Just a little jab and I’ll know why Mike and Nanaba trusted you despite Erwin’s orders and geas.”

Mikasa held on to the mug with fingers gone white as she gazed up at Hange, and then she turned toward Eren. “Do you trust her?”

Well, that was a loaded question, wasn’t it? Eren rubbed at his sore forehead and tucked himself a little closer against Levi, who made a grumbling sound yet moved his arm aside so Eren could fit better against him. “Uhm, she’s crazy but yeah, I trust her.”

“Most people don’t add the ‘crazy’ part, honey, when attesting to a person’s trustworthiness.”

“Most people aren’t bug-fuck crazy like you,” Levi shot back to Hange before he sipped his tea.

“Okay, ya got me there.” This time Hange’s grin was genuine as she pulled on a rubber glove. “This won’t hurt too much, I promise. You don’t have a hopped up healing factor like your brother, right?”

While Mikasa shook her head, Armin got up from Hange’s desk chair and came over to stand by the side of the couch. “I want to see this – I’ve never seen your talent in action.”

“Ah, you’re an alchemist, right? We’ll have to exchange notes later.” Hange grinned at him as she jabbed Mikasa’s clean right forefinger and then used a glass pipe to soak up the blood. Humming to herself, she then raised it up to drink the blood.

Eren felt Levi’s curiosity while Hange ‘read’ the blood, and he was a bit surprised by Hange’s loud gasp when her glowing red eyes went wide as she stepped back so she could better face both Mikasa and his lover. “Well, isn’t *that* a shocker!”

“Just tell us what you found, you shitty glasses,” Levi ground out as he wrapped his arm around Eren’s upper chest.

“Mikasa does indeed come from a long line of Jorōgumo on her mother’s side – a very, very long line. But her father’s bloodline is equally impressive.”

On the other side of Eren, Mikasa scooted over until she pressed against him, which caused Levi’s annoyance to spike. “Yes? Which bloodline was that? We always went by my mother’s name, I couldn’t even find out anything after they died.”

It looked as if Hange was going to go the dramatic route and drag out the answer for a few seconds, until Erwin cleared his throat and Levi made a growling sound. “Fine, fine, spoil my fun,” she mumbled as she twirled the thin glass tube between her fingers. “Mikasa, I’d like for you to meet your cousin, Levi.”

The cramped room was quiet for several heartbeats, and then Levi would have jumped from the couch if not for Eren while Mikasa shouted “hell, no!”

“It’s true! The blood doesn’t lie! As far as I can tell, you two are cousins third removed!” Hange kept waving the glass tube around while Erwin came over to stand in front of the couch; Eren had ended up on Levi’s lap in an effort to calm down his boyfriend.

“Levi, you know Hange’s never lied when it comes to her power, so stop it!” He called up a small ball of flame to back up his order.

Levi bared his teeth in a furious smile before he all but picked up Eren and set him back down on the couch. “How the hell can there be another Ackerman out there? Kenny and I only survived because… well, you know.” Pain, anger and hatred flashed through Eren and aggravated his throbbing headache; when he winced in reaction, Levi reached over to rub at his head.

“Probably because it sounds as if Mikasa’s father didn’t present himself as an Ackerman.” Erwin glanced at Mikasa, who was staring at Eren. “At some point, maybe one of your grandparents or great-grandparents must have been able to hide their talent and so changed their name. It’s possible your father didn’t even know what he was if he truly was a latent.”

Mikasa appeared so lost just then that Eren reached out for her hand. “It’s okay,” he assured her. “Can’t be any worse than me finding out that I’m some ‘key’.”

“You’re still you, you just got a cousin we can hit up for money now,” Armin teased as he joined in on comforting Mikasa.

That prompted a weak laugh from her, even as Eren caught at Levi’s hand and gave it a squeeze to keep Levi from bitching about the joke. “He’s not bad,” he insisted once more. “Just give him a chance.”

Her expression softened as she smiled at him. “All right, at least he’s helping to keep you safe so there’s that. Though it sounds like there’s so much we need to catch up on, like this ‘key’ thing coming out and why someone’s killing those with magical talents who are after you.”

“*Yes*, finally, someone with a bit of focus here.” Erwin beamed at Mikasa and seemed to ignore the rude gesture Levi made in his direction.

Armin nodded in agreement as he finished his coffee. “Oh, and why Eren’s so short all of a sudden.”

The room was quiet for all of about ten seconds before Levi reacted. “What the *hell*?”

Yeah, Eren should have known that things couldn’t go well for him for more than two minutes at a time.

*******

“Short?”

“Ah, yeah, it took some time to notice but Eren should be taller.” The blond guy, Armin, cocked his head to the side as he examined Eren, who was shrinking against Levi as if he could escape attention. “He’s usually about my height.”

“We’re used to him shifting about a good bit, but it is odd that he looks normal and is, well, small.” Mikasa reached out to stroke Eren’s hair.

Okay, first off, for some reason the gesture annoyed Levi, and second, he had a certain brat who needed to explain things *right now*. “Imagine that.” Setting his empty mug aside, he caught at the brat’s wrist which was tucked inside of Levi’s coat and hauled him off of the couch. “We’ll be back.”

“Levi, we still have to discuss what’s going on with the mages being killed.” Erwin did the whole ‘I am so disappointed with you’ face thing, but Levi waved him aside.

“Yeah, whatever, have fun without us.”

“Wait a minute, where are you taking my brother?” The girl, Mikasa, rose up from the couch until Levi manifested a spirit in front of her, which sat her ass back down real quick. “Eren!”

The brat tried to plant his feet for all of two seconds before he sighed and shot Levi a nasty look. “We’ll be right back, okay? Have Hange heat up some food for you and… uhm, yeah, we’ll be right back.” He tried to kick at Levi’s leg but was too slow. “Won’t we?”

Levi merely grunted as he threw open the door to the bedroom and dragged Eren into the room, then locked the door behind them before warding the room against anyone who might interrupt. Once that was done, he leaned against the door with his arms folded over his chest. “So, want to tell me why you lied to me?”

Eren curled up on the bed, his long legs tucked beneath him as he played with the cuffs of Levi’s coat, his eyes downcast and disheveled bangs falling onto his face. “I didn’t lie to you,” he mumbled.

“Right.” It only took three steps to reach the bed and grab hold of the coat’s lapels so he could force Eren to look up at him, and he smiled at the way those eyes, shaded to blue in the dim light of the room, flared gold in reaction to his anger and barely restrained magic. “You told me you didn’t change your appearance for me.”

“I *didn’t*!” Eren made a frustrated noise, almost like a snarl, and smacked at Levi’s hands. “I *do* look like this – ask Mikasa and Armin! The only thing that’s different about me is my size, which you *didn’t* ask about! What I look like, yeah, how tall I am? *No*!”

Levi stared down at his lover for several rapid breaths before he clicked his tongue. “That’s fucking semantics.”

“It’s the truth.” Eren sounded like a surly brat just then, but his hands curled around Levi’s instead of scratching or hitting. “The only thing that changed the moment I met you is that I shrunk.”

“When we met.” Levi tried to recall what exactly had happened when he’d run – literally – into Eren. “You’re saying that you changed then?”

“Yeah.” Eren rolled his eyes and settled a bit more on the bed, which made Levi kneel beside him and loosen his hold on the coat. “All I know is that as soon as we touched, I shifted into this and… well, I’m stuck.” Eren shrugged and didn’t seem too bothered that he didn’t have a better explanation. “Even if I try or get knocked out, I don’t shift back to my normal height. Seems as long as I’m with you, this *is* my normal.”

Levi let go of the coat so he could twist his right hand about to grasp his lover’s and held Eren’s smaller hand in his own; he remembered being hit by someone and thinking something along the lines of ‘great, another tall idiot’, then being surprised when his ‘attacker’ had turned out to be a cute kid. A cute kid who wasn’t some tall idiot. Well, wasn’t tall. “Why didn’t you say something?”

Eren made the frustrated sound again as he tucked back his hair. “Like what? You got me away from those assholes who were chasing me and gave me a safe place to stay, and yeah, so I was short but that was the only thing that had changed.” He once again avoided looking at Levi. “Any other time my talent reacted to someone, it was to shift into a shape to fight or… well, you know.” A slight blush reddened his cheeks. “I figured I could live with it even if you were being a bastard with all the short jokes.”

“So it’s never lasted this long?” Levi was trying to figure out what this all meant, why Eren’s talent was reacting to him. To *him*. He wasn’t used to surprises, and he definitely wasn’t used to them being anything other than nasty in his experience. “What if I don’t want you to be short any longer?”

Eren cocked his head to the side and smiled, the expression a little sad as he reached out to skim his fingers along Levi’s bangs. “You really want me to be tall?”

Levi tried to imagine it in his head – Eren taller than him, no longer able to wear his clothes, those shoulders broader now and… “Not that it would be a bad thing, but yeah, not really.” His hands lifted to cup Eren’s face between them. “I’ve gotten used to putting up with you like this.”

Eren’s eyes, now back to that unusual blend of blue-green, fluttered shut as he chuckled. “I think you just like me smaller so it doesn’t hurt as much when I punch you.”

“I can still kick your ass even if you shift,” Levi pointed out as he pulled his lover toward him. “And that’s my coat, don’t you think it’s time you gave it back?”

“Huh?” Eren gave a slow blink before he smiled, the expression much too wicked for his youthful looks. “Well, if you’re going to be so stingy, take it back yourself.”

Nice to see someone was getting with the program. Levi allowed himself a pleased smile as he slid his left hand into that dark, tousled hair to keep a hold on the brat while his right began to undo buttons, and had to appreciate the benefits of having a shifter as a lover. “Next time, don’t wait forever to put on some damn clothes.”

“Uhm, a little busy today.” Eren leaned forward so he could nuzzle at Levi’s neck. When Levi’s fingers clenched in Eren’s hair upon having his neck nipped, he felt the way that Eren winced in response.

Ah, yeah, the whole ‘key’ magic thing. “Hey, your head still hurt?” He gave an experimental tug again as he tossed the coat aside.

“Fuck, don’t do that.” Eren pushed at him then pulled away as much as Levi’s hold on his hair allowed. “A little?”

Levi loosened his hand enough to massage at the base of Eren’s skull. “What, you don’t know?”

“Yeah, it really hurt, absorbing other people’s magic, but right now I’m feeling more than that.” Eren let his head loll back into Levi’s hand. “Hmm, I like your emotions better.”

Yeah, still a bit creepy how the brat could sense his emotions like that, though Levi had to admit it was a bit of a thrill how responsive Eren was at times like this; as he leaned in for a kiss, Eren met him halfway, lips already parted and arms outstretched to wrap around him.

“Clothes,” Eren breathed out as he straddled Levi’s lap, and it wasn’t until Levi felt a tugging at his sweater that he realized what it was that his lover wanted. Groaning a little as he broke off the kiss, Levi grabbed at the hem of his sweater and tugged it upward, then tossed it aside without a care once it was off. He caught the brat’s smirk once he was bare from the waist up and snatched at Eren’s jaw. 

“And what are you feeling now?” He followed up the question by leaning in to nibble on the space beneath Eren’s right ear while his hands skimmed downward until they settled on prominent hipbones. All the while, the sense of that wild, warm magic enveloped Levi and almost made him feel dizzy.

Eren whined in frustration and wrapped his arms around Levi’s shoulders. “Ah! Ah… desire and puh-pleasure and magic and….” His brows grew furrowed as he shook his head. “Suh-something and… yeah, headache. And frustration, dammit.”

Figures the idiot wouldn’t even know what he was feeling, though Levi smirked a little at the last bit as his right hand wrapped around Eren’s cock, causing his lover to jerk his hips and cry out. “Can’t have that, can we?” He toppled Eren onto the bed then stretched out beside him, his free hand busy with the buttons of his jeans.

At first a bit dazed by the change of position, Eren blinked several times – right, *just* a headache – and then his hands scrambled to help Levi with the jeans even as his hips kept rocking into Levi’s touch. For a moment it was a bit of a cluster-fuck, and then Levi managed to get his jeans and underwear down past his knees and lay facing his lover.

Eren shuffled closer and entangled his legs with Levi’s, his hand quick to wrap around Levi’s cock with a eagerness that was addictive. For a moment Levi lost himself in the feel of a smooth, unfamiliar hand around him, of the hesitant touch that quickly grew steady and took on a pattern that had him biting into his bottom lip – firm and not too fast, careful around his sensitive tip. Then he noticed that his own ‘attention’ was flagging and hastened the strokes around Eren’s cock, his lips brushing against his lover’s forehead as Eren trembled against him and gasped out his name. 

His fingers dug into the small of Eren’s back as he pulled the brat closer, intense pleasure coiling tighter and tighter inside of him and the feel of their entwined magic almost oppressive around them. Pressed tight against him, Eren shuddered as if in pain, his strokes along Levi’s cock slowing as he cried out and came in several rapid pulses.

Feeling Eren’s flushed face tuck in against the crook of his neck, Levi jolted when the strokes around his cock resumed with unexpected speed, along with the increased speed helped to push him over the edge from the shock of ecstasy. He buried the growl of pleasure that escaped from him as he came into Eren’s sweaty and tousled hair, mindful of the sensation of wiry arms and legs enfolded around him.

As the aftershocks of his orgasm faded away, he lay there on the bed, tangled up in his clothes and Eren, who seemed determined to merge with him from how hard he pressed against his body. Levi sighed as he ran his hand along Eren’s knobby spine.

“And now?”

“...eh?”

Levi poked the brat for such an inelegant response. “How are you feeling now?”

“Oh.” Eren pulled back enough so he could look at Levi. “Mmm, tired. Pleased. Little achy. Blissed out. Smug.” He rubbed at his eyes. “That’s yours, you know.”

Levi went to flick the brat on ear before he remembered about the headache. “Don’t be a little shit.”

“Don’t be such an old pervert,” Eren muttered back as he closed his eyes.

“You’re lucky your brains are even more scrambled than usual right now,” Levi warned as he sat up, which prompted a displeased squawk from his lover. Eren grumbled something as he curled up on the bed while Levi stripped off the rest of his clothes and went to the bathroom to clean up.

Eren appeared asleep when he returned with a damp washcloth, from which he rung out a few drops of water onto his lover while clicking his tongue. “Wake up – you’re not sleeping like that.”

“So mean,” Eren complained as he rubbed at his eyes.

“Yeah, you’ve mentioned that a few times. Clean yourself off and then get beneath the covers,” Levi ordered before he went to pull on a pair of boxers and sweat pants.

There was more grumbling but Eren did as he’d been told, and even accepted a pair of boxers from Levi once he wiped himself clean. Levi stripped off the duvet with the intention of washing it later, then crawled beneath the covers so he could catch a quick nap; if he went out there now, he’d just put up with a lot of unnecessary bitching.

Of course as soon as he settled beneath the bedding, a certain brat had to curl up next to him as if he was a fucking teddy bear or something. “You have the other half of the bed, you know.”

“Don’t care,” Eren mumbled as he threw an arm across Levi’s abdomen and snuggled even closer. “Feels good like this.”

Like Levi would admit that it did, under pain of torture or anything else, but yeah, it did; the feel of Eren’s magic soaking into his skin and bones was soothing after whatever the hell it was that had allowed him to absorb the others’ magic. So all he did was sigh in an exaggerated manner and curl his arm around to toy with his lover’s hair while he closed his eyes and allowed sleep to take over.

*******

Armin read through a section on natural magic before flipping through the heavy vellum pages. “So what all do you know about Eren’s magic now?”

Hange propped her chin up on her left palm and fiddled with her glasses. “Maybe I should ask you that question since you’ve known him the longest.”

“I can honestly say I’ve never seen him do anything like that thing with the magical growth and absorbing another’s magical energy before.” Armin bookmarked a promising section before he focused his attention on the conversation. “We probably should have tested what he could have done with that energy.”

“Oh, I’m going to like having you around!” Hange grinned so much her eyes crinkled shut while on the other side of the table, Erwin groaned and pinched at the bridge of his nose. “Yeah, that would have been wonderful but I think Levi would have been even grumpier than normal if we got all pokey with his boyfriend.” She cocked her head to the side and seemed to think about what she’d just said. “No pun intended.”

Not going to think about Eren and ‘pokey’ and his new boyfriend, right, Armin told himself as he scrubbed at the roots of his hair. “Oh-kay. Yes. Another time. Back on topic, all Mikasa and I noticed about Eren was that he can shift into almost any shape he can imagine, and there’s been times when he’s absorbed energy from the environment around him. It’s helped out a lot when we’ve been running too much and exhausted.”

“Ah, so he’s tapping into the lifeforce of the earth, which is understandable if he can absorb another person’s magic.” Hange tapped her fingers against the rim of her glasses. “Nothing else about him being a ‘key’?”

Armin shook his head. “No, we always wondered what Grisha meant by that, but to be honest, we were too busy trying to stay ahead of the people hunting Eren down to do much research or to look into his talents.” Any downtime they did have, Armin was busy learning new spells to help protect them or obtain the materials he needed for his potions.

“Sometimes certain powers come out when a person matures – Eren said he’s almost thirty, so perhaps he needed to reach a milestone in age before they… unlocked so to speak.” Erwin set aside the book he’d been skimming and reached for a new one. “That and Levi’s presence may be why things are happening now.”

Armin wasn’t quite sure what Levi had to do with anything, but Hange nodded away as if she understood Erwin’s logic; it was something he’d have to check into himself later on. “So we know that this change is recent, and that it allows him to manipulate magic to an extent that hasn’t been seen before?”

Erwin held up a book, the title translating into ‘The Principles of Magic’ from what Armin could tell. “Most mages are limited to one element and can manipulate that element based on their degree of training, skill and strength. It’s unheard of for a magic user to be able to ‘feed’ off of another’s energy or magic, or to pull so freely from a native source – well, with the exception of necromancers. Part of the reason they’re feared is they do obtain some energy upon the release of a life.”

“Oh.” Now Armin was beginning to understand the Levi comment. “I wonder if that’s why Eren said it didn’t hurt so much when he absorbed Levi’s magic.” For some reason, Hange’s grin widened upon hearing that.

“Yes, they do seem to… compliment each other well.” There was even a slight smile on Erwin’s handsome face as he stacked the books in front of him into a neat pile then stood up from the table. “I think I’m going to assist Nanaba with the wards outside – the words are beginning to look like a jumble of black ink to me.”

Hange gasped in an exaggerated manner and clutched her hands to her chest. “The legendary Erwin Smith, a quitter? My faith in you has been shattered, *shattered* I tell ya.”

A sour expression twisted his lips as he picked up a pen and threw it at her. “I don’t want to know what exactly that ‘faith’ in me was in the first place, thank you very much.”

A disturbing leer spread across Hange’s face as she picked up the pen that had bounced from her chest to land on the table and twirled it about. “Oh, you’d only have nightmares for a few days, promise.”

“Yes, that’s what I’m afraid of.” Erwin gave Armin an encouraging smile and patted him twice on the shoulder. “Don’t be afraid to barricade yourself in one of the bedrooms if she becomes too much, or to come looking for me. More experienced mages have fallen to her under false bravado.”

“Uhm, thanks?” Armin frowned as he reached over to pull his satchel closer to him – maybe he should have gone with Mikasa to hang out with Eren now that his friend was awake, but he’d decided to give the siblings a little alone time together.

“Aw, like I’d do anything bad to such a sweetie when he’s turning into a helpful research assistant,” Hange whined. “I’ll try out my new spells on Mike, he has a much stronger immune system.”

“That’s fine, I’m still a bit upset at Mike at the moment.” Erwin waved goodbye as he headed to the front door. “When Levi’s done with the laundry, let him know we can use some help with the wards.”

“Hmm, if I can pry him away from his honey.” Hange waved the pen in the direction of the kitchen.

There was a long-suffering sigh from Erwin as he paused at the door, and he shook his head as he walked outside.

“He seems a little stressed,” Armin commented as he flipped to the bookmarked section.

“Bah, Erwin’s not Erwin unless he’s plotting and stressed about something he should be plotting about. But he’s a genius. An evil genius, but a genius none-the-less.” Hange held up her mug of coffee in a salute.

Armin stared at her for several seconds before he blinked slowly and went back to reading from the book, the whole entire while wondering just how he was going to get back at Eren for dragging them all into this mess.

*******

“If you’re just going to sit there, do something useful and help me peel all of these potatoes.” Eren dropped a sack of the vegetables on the table in front of Mikasa.

She blinked a couple of times in surprise and then looked up at her brother. “All of them?”

“Well, we have a few more people for dinner than usual, so yeah.” His grin just then was more of a grimace, and then it softened as he handed her a knife. “Don’t worry, I’m going to mash them up.”

She felt her cheeks heat up as she rose from the table, the sack in one hand and the knife in the other. “You always enjoyed cooking so I never saw the sense in learning.”

He laughed as little as he returned to the counter, where he’d been busy setting out ingredients minutes before. “It never was a problem, I was happy to have one thing I could do better than you.” She loved the way his eyes sparkled as he looked up at her through the unruly hair falling onto his face; okay, it was taking some getting used to, how short he was now. Except for that year or two before puberty, they’d always been about the same height. “Even if it’s just making a simple dinner.”

“But I like your cooking.” It had been so long since she’d been able to enjoy it, too, since being on the run didn’t afford them many opportunities to take the time to make a proper meal. “You’ve been doing the cooking for everyone?”

Eren nodded as he handed her a bowl to put the peeled potatoes into once she finished the peeling – well, more like the mangling. “Levi’s idea of food is to dump it out of a can and heat it up, while Hange… uhm, yeah, we won’t get into Hange.” He shuddered a little while he scraped clean several carrots; from the looks of it, dinner was going to be shepard’s pie, and a lot of it. “I wanted to do something to thank them for helping me out, especially after Levi lost his home because of me.”

Mikasa paused with a potato to look at her brother, who was frowning as he set aside the carrots in order to peel the onions. “His home?” She didn’t know much about Levi, other than the stories she’d heard about him – none really any good – and the fact that he… well, she didn’t like to think about his relationship with her brother, not after what had happened in the bedroom. The bedroom with too thin walls.

Glaring at the onion in his hand as if it had offended him in some way, Eren nodded. “After he got me out of Karanese, the Reiss organization managed to track us back to his house after a few days. We took care of them, but…” He shrugged as he discarded the onion’s skin, and she suspected the sniff he took just then might not have to do with just the vegetable. “Hange’s really nice to let us stay here.”

“Hange is never nice, and what did I say about letting go of the damn house?”

Eren jumped at the sound of Levi’s deep voice, and Mikasa was even startled at the necromancer’s sudden appearance, though that emotion soon changed to annoyance as he draped his arms over Eren’s shoulders. “When will dinner be ready?”

“About an hour, if someone doesn’t distract me.” Eren jabbed his elbow backwards and made Levi grunt. “Aren’t you supposed to be looking through a bunch of old books?”

“Hange’s making do with that friend of yours, if he can stop himself from drooling all over the pages.” Levi reached around to swipe a piece of carrot. “How’s your head?”

“Better now that nothing weird has happened in the past hour.” Eren paused in chopping up vegetables and moaned. “I just jinxed myself, didn’t I?”

“Yep, so when the shit starts flying, it’s all your fault.” Levi flicked him in the ear and stepped back when Eren whined. “With that in mind, I’ll join Erwin and Nanaba outside in strengthening the wards.”

“Have fun, old man.”

“Behave, brat.” Levi gave an off-handed wave as he left the room, and Mikasa had the impression that he’d barely noticed her at all, which was fine since she still didn’t know how she felt about being related to the intimidating man. It was bad enough dealing with the fact that he was Eren’s *lover*, something that had just been rubbed into her nose with the casual interaction just now, with how Eren had allowed someone else, someone *not* her or Armin, to touch and tease him.

“You okay?”

“Hmm?” She looked over to find Eren gazing at her with an odd expression on his face. “What is it?”

“Oh, just that you seemed sad for some reason, and I’m the one who chopped the onions.” He wrinkled his nose as he added them and the chopped carrots to a large pan filled with oil, then dumped in a bunch of ground meat.

“Just… thinking about my dad – about what it must have been like for him to give up his name and hide his family background like that.” About why he hid the fact that he was an Ackerman. Had he truly been a latent? Had his father or mother been like Levi?

Eren paused in stirring the mixture for a few seconds then shrugged. “Guess both of our dads had their secrets, no?”

She set the mostly peeled potato down so she could reach over and give him a one-arm hug. “Eren… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories.”

“No – it’s not your fault, and this whole mess brings home how much better of I’d have been – how better of *all* of us would have been if he’d just let me know what I was from the beginning. I don’t know how the hell he thought this,” he gestured around him, “is keeping me safe. Maybe your dad would have told you the truth when you were old enough, not up and abandon you one day.”

Eren always got so angry whenever Grisha was brought up, and Mikasa really couldn’t blame him, not after that day when they’d been alone in the house trying to decide what to do when it had become clear that Grisha wasn’t coming home and those mages had burst in with the intent to take Eren away, not when they had spent so many years on the run, not when Armin had nearly died. Not when it was becoming clear that this ‘key’ business was more serious than they’d thought, that it meant that those mages out there were not only willing to hunt down Eren but kill each other to get their hands on him.

“He loved you, so maybe there’s a reason for this.” She sighed when she felt Eren tense up against her.

“Yeah, well he has a damn funny way of showing that love, doesn’t he?”

She couldn’t really argue with that so she hugged him tight before she let him go. “So what are we going to do next?”

“Huh?” Eren paused in stirring about the meat and vegetable mixture to blink at her, probably thrown off by the change in topic; his expression was still a bit mulish because of Grisha before changing to pure confusion. “What do you mean?”

She gestured with the knife in her right hand. “What’s our next steps? Where do we go from here?”

“Oh.” Eren frowned as he tucked aside a lock of hair that had fallen forward. “I’m not too sure, to be honest. Levi and Hange are teaching me how to cast wards and other helpful spells, which should help in protecting and hiding myself. There’s also the whole ‘key’ thing and figuring that out.”

“Armin and I can teach you those things, and Armin’s a genius at finding stuff.” They’d taught Eren all of the spells he knew.

Eren was quiet for a minute or so as he concentrated on cooking. “Mikasa… I’m really learning a lot, okay? It’s difficult to figure this stuff out when we’re also on the run, which is why I never bothered with more than the basics before. And… look, I know you’re not crazy about Levi, I can tell, but there’s something about him. I think maybe I should stick around a bit longer.”

Used to it being just the three of them, of Eren relying upon *her*, Mikasa felt something inside of her chest clench and had to rest against the counter as her vision blurred. “Don’t… don’t you trust us?” Didn’t he trust *her*?

There was a clatter of the wooden spoon being set down and then Eren’s arms wrapped around her. “No! No, that’s not it, all right?” His chin dug into her right shoulder as he pressed against her. “You’re my family and I know you’ll always be there for me, always. It’s just… something inside of me is pushing me toward Levi, just like I always knew that you were special since that… well, that day.” His hands rubbed up and down her back. “I think it has to do with why I’m stuck being so short, which I’m sure Armin loves.”

That last bit, said in such a tone of exasperation, made her laugh as she hugged him back. “Yeah, he did mention something about rubbing it in earlier.” She bent her head so she could rest her cheek against the top of his head; ever since that awful day when he had come to save her, she had been drawn to him, had loved to be by his side and feel his warm, vibrant magic. Had loved knowing that this amazing person was someone special, was *her* someone special and reciprocated that feeling. It… it was a bit difficult to know that she had to share him with someone other than Armin after so long.

“Great, I’m so looking forward to that.” Eren rolled his eyes as he pulled away. “What are the odds that he’ll be too enamored with the books to come up for breath for the next… oh, month or so?”

“You wouldn’t be that lucky.”

“Yeah, I thought so.” Eren didn’t appear too happy as he went back to preparing their dinner, but he soon took to humming as he added some seasonings to the mix.

So maybe this wasn’t quite the reunion that Mikasa had expected, wasn’t her finding Eren and then resuming how things had been before he’d taken off… but still, they were together once more. She’d adjust to Levi and the rest, would accept the changes if it meant that this time, Eren wouldn’t go away. All that mattered was having her brother back in her life once more.

*******

Annie stood in front of the overweight, sweaty mage whom Reiner held dangling from the nape of his neck. “It’s not that difficult – all we want to know is where you’re concentrating your searchers for the shifter, Eren Jaeger.” She flexed her right hand in front of the Balto, the claws long and sharp.

Balto babbled something as tears and snot streamed down his face, and a glance from her made Reiner shake him in the air. “I’m sorry, but I’m not understanding you.” As soon as Reiner held him still, she reached out and dug her claws into his chest; they sunk in with ease and prompted a high-pitch scream from the mage as blood streamed from the wound.

“Ju-just answer her,” Bertolt stammered out from his position leaning against the wall, his expression impassive except from the worried gleam in his green eyes. “It’ll be better for you.”

“Bu-but duh-don’t know,” the mage wailed.

Annoyed with how long this was being dragged out, Annie sighed and dug in her claws even deeper. “We know you do, so spare yourself the pain. Tell us where we can find Jaeger.” The sooner this was finished, the better.

Reiner tightened his hold, and between the pain in his chest and the threat of another vicious shaking, something finally got through to the old mage since he gasped and nodded in a frantic manner. “Jah-jaeger. Yes.”

Finally, they were getting somewhere. Annie retracted her claws and stepped back, then pulled a cloth from the pocket of her light grey hoodie so she could wipe her hand clean. “Tell us about him, please.” She nodded once at Reiner, who lowered Balto onto the ground but kept a tight grip on him while Bertolt came forward to join them. “Where is he?”

Balto hiccupped once his feet touched the ground and raised his bound hands to wipe at his face, which only made more of a mess of it. “Don’ know.” When Reiner began to lift him back up, Balto’s eyes went wide and he shook his head. “No, *no*! Don’t know where exactly, but we tracked him down to Ackerman’s house an’ there… there we lost the trail. We’re searching for them both.”

Annie frowned as she shared a look with Bertolt, who wiped at the sweat on spotting his brow, and then with Reiner. “Ackerman? As in Levi Ackerman?”

“Yes.” Balto went to nod again and winced, probably because of how Reiner’s grip tightened on his neck. “Levi Ackerman. Only him and Kenny left of the bloodline.”

“And now you’re looking for them both?”

“*Yes*.” 

Annie weighed the answer for several seconds before she nodded to Reiner, who grimaced before he snapped the mage’s neck without any warning; she didn’t think Balto had anything left to tell them, not with what she knew about the Ackermans and how little luck they’d had these last few days in finding Eren’s trail. At least now they had a clue, had a very small lead which they could work into something that would pay off in the end.

Reiner let go of Balto’s corpse and stepped over it to go to Bertolt’s side. “That’s not good, Eren crossing paths with an Ackerman.”

“No, that’s basically the last thing we wanted to happen, other than Reiss or another powerful organization getting their hands on him,” Annie agreed. “We can only hope that it’s more a matter of desperation bringing them together than anything else.”

Both of her friends murmured in agreement. “Levi’s pretty nasty, according to rumor. Maybe he’s after Eren, too?”

Annie flexed her claws at the thought. “Then we’ll deal with him, too.” She motioned for the boys to follow her away from the corpse. “Come on, we’ll find out what Hitch knows about Ackerman and then dig in to his known associates. There has to be some leads we can unearth that’ll help us find Eren.”

“Now that know who’s hiding him.” Reiner whistled as they headed to the car, the sound low and impressed. “An Ackerman, that should be a fun fight.”

“He might be able to subdue one shifter, but let’s see him try three.” Annie held up her clawed fingers before she willed her hand back to normal. “He’ll regret ever grasping at something beyond his reach as we’re tearing him apart.”

Reiner made a growling sound while Bert nodded, his face anxious as if he was imagining what Ackerman was doing to Eren. 

*******


	5. We know what we are, but know not what we may be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, just thought it was appropriate to post a chapter update on Halloween since that was in part what inspired this fic. Had hoped to wrap this up by now, but.... Ah well, here's a chapter and I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> And as always, thank you so much for the kudos and the comments left on this fic, they are truly appreciated!

*******

Levi lay in bed for what felt to be a good twenty minutes or so, lulled into a sense of rare relaxation by the soft mattress, warm sheets and a certain brat half-sprawled on top of him, until his full bladder finally became demanding enough that he groaned as he slowly shifted out from beneath Eren and the weight of the blankets. Eren made a snuffling sound but didn’t wake up, just curled up in the spot vacated by Levi and settled once Levi draped the blankets back over him, and then Levi was free to hurry over to the bathroom. He scratched at the stubble on his chin while he pissed, but decided to wait until later to shower and shave; he pulled on some pants, a t-shirt and a robe, and considered himself decent enough to fetch a pot of tea and some toast to satiate his hunger until Eren woke up.

Careful to shut the door quietly behind him as he left the room, he found Eren’s friend Armin face down in a book that was open on the coffee table, and Hange about to fall out of the chair in front of her desk – it didn’t take a genius to figure out that they’d been up all night trying to learn more about Eren’s ‘key’ status. Levi shook his head as he crept toward the kitchen, and was a bit surprised to find Mikasa up and busy brewing some coffee.

She was dressed in a robe herself, one of Hange’s, and frowned once she caught sight of him. “Eren up?” For some reason she was still wearing the red scarf from yesterday around her neck.

“No, he’s still dead to the world. Probably won’t see him for another hour or two and then he’ll make breakfast.” Levi went past her to the stove so he could grab the kettle.

“He never was a morning person.” Mikasa directed her frown at the coffee machine and tapped her fingers against the counter. “Still, he must be happy to be able to cook for everyone like this – he takes after his mother in that regard.”

Levi paused in filling the kettle with fresh water for a moment, but waited until the kettle was filled and placed back on the stove to say anything. “Just know he likes to do it and he’s good at it.”

The comment made Mikasa spin around and glare, her arms folded over her chest and her right hand toying with the ends of the scarf. “What, don’t you bother to get to know my brother? You just-“ She waved in the direction of the bedroom, a hint of pink on her pale cheeks as she clammed up.

Yeah, he so didn’t need this first thing in the morning. “I know his mother was killed when you both were young and he blames himself for it. I know his father abandoned you and he’s still pissed off about it to this day, and he wasn’t happy about leaving you and Blondie out there behind but he did it because he didn’t want to watch you die. So yeah, I don’t pry, just like he doesn’t pry too much into my past. It’s called ‘boundaries’, which you need to learn.” He gave her a flat look then went to fetch some bread for toast.

That shut up the pest for about a minute or two, long enough for him to set the bread in the toaster. “I just… I don’t get the two of you,” she admitted as she poured coffee into a mug. “Everything I’ve heard about you… well, it isn’t good. You kill people.”

Couldn’t this wait until he had some damn tea first? Levi gave the kettle a gaze of longing and sighed. “First off, don’t believe everything you hear. Second, yeah I kill people – my talent doesn’t exactly allow me to do much else when a bunch of mages have me cornered and want me dead. In case it isn’t obvious, people don’t like necromancers. And by like, I mean they want to wipe us out.” The toast popped out just then so he paused to grab it and put it on a plate. “It’s why there aren’t that many of us running around, and why your father hid what he was. Considering that the Ackerman line is the most powerful necromancer line out there, we’re like walking targets so yeah, we tend to hit first and hit hard if we think there’s going to be trouble.” Ah, *finally*, the kettle began to boil; he turned off the stove and poured some of the hot water into a clean tea pot to warm it up, then added some tea leaves into the strainer and more water before buttering up his toast.

While he fixed his snack, Mikasa sipped her coffee and gazed at the floor as if deep in thought. “So that’s why the Ackermans’ are hated so much? Because you’re so powerful?”

Someone had to accept it wasn’t so much a case of ‘you’ but ‘we’; Levi grunted as he finished buttering his toast. “That’s part of it. All necromancers can gain some energy if a person dies around them, but the Ackerman line… I don’t know if it was bred into us or if we just had some damn genetic quirk or what, but for us, we can absorb more of that energy and so get a bigger boost than other necromancers.” He narrowed his eyes and pointed the knife at Eren’s sister. “You ever feel anything like that? A sudden rush when someone dies around you?”

At first it looked as if the girl was going to tell him ‘no’, was even beginning to shake her head, and then she paused as her dark eyes went wide. “I… there are times when we fight, when… yes, something hits me, makes me focus and I feel stronger, feel able to fight better, fight stronger.”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.” He took a bite of toast before he continued. “Sounds as if you need some training, but you got both lines of magic in you after all.” ‘Lucky’ girl.

Mikasa began to shake her head again, only to stop and glance in the direction of the spare bedroom. “If it’ll help protect Eren….”

Yeah, that overbearing sister routine was getting on his nerves. “The brat’s fine, worry about yourself, especially if it gets out that you’ve Ackerman blood in you.” His lips twisted at the thought and he did some head-shaking of his own as he poured a mug of tea.

“Because I’ll be a target of mages, just like you?”

“That and people will want to see if you’re anything like me and Kenny.” He looked up to see Mikasa’s face whiten at the mention of his uncle. “Yeah, you think I’m bad? Be thankful you didn’t run into him.”

“The Butcher,” she whispered. “So he fights all those mages because of being a necromancer?”

Levi scoffed at that and nearly spilled his tea. “Hell no, he fights because he’s a murderous sadist, plain and simple.” Something dark rose inside of him at the memory of his uncle, of the harsh lessons the man forced upon him to teach him both how to control his magical talent and how to physically fight, how some days he hadn’t known who was his worst enemy – Kenny or the rest of the world. He’d hated the man after he’d been abandoned, but damn if it hadn’t been the best thing for him. “Meanest asshole out there, and I’ve known a lot of assholes.”

Mikasa stared at him over the rim of her coffee mug, her expression dubious as if she was trying to figure out if she could trust him or not. Levi didn’t really care – if she ran across Kenny she’d find out the hard way just how much of a malicious bastard the man really was, and how he lived to inflict pain upon anyone who crossed his path. Though Kenny would probably let her live because of her Ackerman blood – not without leaving a few scars in his wake.

“I still don’t see-“

“Mmm, choppy.”

Eren’s sleepy, congested voice made them jerk around, and Levi cursed as hot tea lapped at his fingertips; the burn of the tea was offset by the soothing wash of Eren’s magic as his lover shuffled toward him, dressed only in boxers and Levi’s t-shirt. The brat didn’t stop until he was an insistent, warm and near boneless mass pressed against Levi’s left side.

“Why me?” Levi griped even as he slung his arm around the half-unconscious idiot. “And what’s ‘choppy’?”

“Choppy,” Eren mumbled again as he flopped his right hand about in the vicinity of his head. “Woke me up.”

Levi set the mug aside so he could press the palm of his hand between his brows. “You make no fucking sense, but what else is new?”

“Your ‘motions.” Eren opened his eyes long enough to give a sleepy glare Levi’s way, then closed them again and rested his head on Levi’s shoulder. “Hmm, tired.”

“Seriously, we need to figure out a damn block for this shi-“ Levi was about to flick the brat on the ear when Mikasa’s sudden presence made him stop and glare. “What?”

“He’s sensing your emotions?”

“Yeah, what about it?” Levi tightened his hold on Eren when his lover took to nuzzling his neck. “Isn’t it a shifter thing?”

“Not if he can do it from another room while asleep.” Mikasa’s expression grew contemplative as she stood near Eren with her hands tangled around the ends of the scarf. “Are you always sensing Levi, Eren?”

“Hmm, grumpy.” Eren rubbed his cheek along Levi’s shoulder as if he was a fucking cat or something. “’cept when he’s not.”

“Like I said, no fucking sense from you.” Levi gave him a light flick to the ear, and then a harder one when he noticed that Eren had reached around him to snag the remaining piece of his toast. “Oi! Start making some breakfast if you’re hungry, you little shit.” He shoved Eren toward the stove and followed it with a swat to his barely covered ass.

The brat whined even as he bit into the toast. “Cold.”

Levi sighed as he shrugged out of his robe and threw it at Eren, a slight smirk on his lips when it landed mostly over the brat’s head and prompted a squawk of surprise. “Then cover your ass, and I want eggs Benedict for breakfast.”

“Slave driver,” Eren muttered as he began to slip on the robe. “That okay, Mikasa? I can make something else for you.”

“Hmm?” Mikasa shook her head a little, since she had been staring rather intently at the two of them before Eren had asked his question. “No, that’s fine. Anything’s better than fast food.” She watched as Eren held the toast between his teeth so he could tie the robe shut then went to check the fridge for ingredients; Levi was enjoying his tea without a boyfriend hanging on him when she returned her attention his way.

“Yes?”

“Know much about shifters?” There was an odd note to her quiet voice just then.

“More than I did a week or two ago.” He had an annoying suspicion that she was going to enlighten him on something.

Mikasa glanced back at Eren, her hands once more entangled in the scarf, before her gaze resettled on Levi. “Eren’s never formed a permanent empathic link with someone.”

“That we know of,” the brat called out from the fridge.

“*Never*,” Mikasa stressed. “So what makes you so special?”

His arms full of egg cartons and other things, Eren opened his mouth as if to say something as he backed out of the fridge, but one glance Levi and Mikasa’s way made him snap his mouth shut and shake his head as if deciding it was better to stay out of the conversation.

Levi took the time to finish his tea and pour some more before answering. “Maybe if we knew that, we’d have a fucking clue about this whole ‘key’ thing, no?”

Mikasa continued to study him for a few more seconds before nodding. “At least you’re honest.” It was sort of implied ‘even if you’re messing with my brother’.

Wasn’t she such a sweetheart? Still, Levi felt a bit of respect toward the girl for standing up to him for Eren’s sake, when most people ran in the opposite direction as soon as they heard his name. “I don’t much see a reason to lie. Erwin said something about Eren and I being of a complimentary nature due to our magic, so maybe that’s why the link is there. Maybe it’s just the Fates fucking with us, who knows.” He paused for a sip of tea as his gaze lingered on Eren, who was busy prepping for breakfast, and felt a thrum of magic between them when his lover looked up to offer him a lopsided smile. “Not sure I really care.”

Eren’s smile evened out even as he wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, says the guy who does the waking up because he’s all….” He waved his right hand about as his brow grew furrowed. “Choppy.”

“Seriously, what the *hell* does that even mean?” Levi looked to Mikasa for help. “Was he dropped on his head as a squalling brat or what?”

“Oh come on, they’re your emotions, what do you want me to say!” Eren slammed the pan he’d just fetched down on the stove with a bit too much force and glared at Levi. “All growly and dark and this one second and that and…choppy!”

“I’ll give you growly.” Levi stalked over so he could grab hold of the brat’s nape and rubbed his hand over Eren’s tousled hair, which prompted his lover to let out a loud yelp and attempt to give him a kick to the shin. “Utterly brain dead, you are.”

“Supposed to be sleeping,” Eren pouted as he twisted about in Levi’s hold until his back pressed against Levi’s chest. “Even making you breakfast, you old ingrate.”

“Hmm, don’t overcook the bacon.” Levi ran his hand over Eren’s mess of hair and noticed that Mikasa appeared to be stifling a laugh, her dark eyes bright and cheeks once more flushed. “Well, was he dropped on his head or what?”

“So mean,” Eren whined yet he didn’t pull away.

“I wasn’t there when he was a baby, but I’m pretty sure his mother wouldn’t have let that happen. I’m afraid it’s just Eren.” She smiled at her brother when he took to groaning.

“Thanks, Mikasa. And here I thought I could count on you.”

“Then you don’t want my help with making breakfast for six people?” She cocked her head to the side and smiled some more when Eren sighed and nodded. “I thought so.”

“You know what? The two of you are related after all,” Eren grumbled as he stepped away from Levi.

Levi clicked his tongue as he headed back to his abandoned mug of tea. “Should make for a fun practice session later, no? You can see how well you do against the both of us.” The look on Eren’s face just then was priceless and well worth all of the complaints he’d have to put up with the rest of the day.

“Should have just let Reiss capture me that day,” Eren mumbled as he began to cut up the bacon.

*******

Armin rubbed at his sore neck as he ate his breakfast; he really had missed Eren’s cooking these last few years. “This is so good.”

Eren snorted in amusement as he mopped up his plate with a piece of toast. “You say that about everything I make, but thanks.”

“Well, my grandfather did set the bar rather low.” Armin thought of his grandfather with a sad fondness before he shook his head. “That and years of fast food.”

“We’re all very grateful for Eren’s efforts in the kitchen, since this is the first time I’ve felt it safe to eat while at Hange’s.” Erwin helped himself to another serving while shooting their hostess a wry grin. “Even with Levi around to restore some sort of order to your kitchen.”

The blood witch didn’t appear too offended by the critique since she just grinned back as she poured herself more coffee. “There always seems to be something more important than cleaning.”

Levi’s face wrinkled in disgust as he pushed his empty plate aside. “You’re lucky we put up with your filthy ass.”

“Aw, but you love me, I know you do!” Hange beamed at him from over the rim of her coffee mug, and laughed when he gave her the finger. “Don’t worry, Eren-honey, our love is true but a platonic thing, it won’t stand in the way of your relationship.”

“Add bug-fuck crazy to the list.”

“And that’s why you adore me so, you grump.”

Armin watched the bickering with fascination while he ate his breakfast, while beside him Mikasa sipped her coffee, a calm presence; he wasn’t sure what had happened this morning while he’d slept, but she seemed a bit more at peace over Eren’s relationship with Levi. There was even a slight smile on her face as she watched over her brother, who sat rather close to the irate necromancer as he argued with Hange over having any friendly feelings at all for the woman.

Erwin appeared amused as well, his blue eyes bright and a smile lurking on his face. “Let’s hope you put the same energy you do into fighting each other into fighting our enemy.”

Levi shifted his glare from Hange to the blond mage. “Sure, I just have to imagine they’re a certain hellfire casting pain in the ass and I’ll do fine.” He leaned back in his chair, his left arm slung over it and across the back of Eren’s as well and held his mug of tea by its rim with the tips of his fingers as he drank from it. “They’ll be dead in minutes.”

“Perfect.” Erwin’s grin widened as if he was unbothered by – that or accustomed to – the threat. “Whatever motivates you.”

Levi gave him a blank stare for several seconds before he turned away and clicked his tongue, which only seemed to add to Erwin’s amusement. “So, did the two of you find anything of interest last night?”

It took Armin a moment to realize that Erwin was speaking to him and Hange, and noticed that Hange was shaking her head. “Uhm, no, I’m sorry to say that we didn’t find anything.” Armin laughed nervously as he rubbed at the back of his head, unsure of how the mage with the intimidating presence would take the news.

Hange let out a slow breath as she slammed her mug onto the table. “I hope Moblit gets back soon with those books from Pixis, because I don’t think we’re going to find much in these.” She narrowed her eyes at Eren. “I’m beginning to think that someone went through a lot of trouble to keep anything about a living ‘key’ from being documented.”

Erwin leaned back in his chair while the air shuddered and coalesced in silvery shimmers around Levi. “That’s quite an accusation, what makes you think that?”

“Because I know mages, and the magic community is a bitchy, gossipy lot.” Hange ignored the scowl Levi gave her with an ease that impressed Armin, considering that Mikasa was on edge beside him and probably one twitch away from sending out her threads while his left hand had dropped to a pocket of his cargo pants, where he kept a couple of ‘emergency’ vials. “And anytime one of us makes a discovery, we want everyone to know just how clever we are, so….” She propped her chin up on her left hand and batted her eyes. “You really think that if someone knew something about a ‘key’, they wouldn’t have told someone else or written it down?”

“Not if someone tore out their throat first.” Levi’s fingers brushed along the edge of Eren’s left shoulder and the spirits around him spun about in an obvious sign of agitation. “So why the big deal of keeping it a secret?”

“Yeah, why go through all that effort for someone like me?” Eren looked so forlorn just then that Armin felt sorry for his friend – he suspected that Eren was remembering his mother’s death, about how long he’d been on the run and Armin’s own injury. Before he could do anything, though, Levi’s hand lifted up to flick him in the ear, and Eren’s emotions changed into annoyance.

“Dammit-“

“Indeed, why?” Erwin’s lips twitched for a moment at the lovers’ antics before his demeanor became serious. “We know that Eren can absorb magic from others, and I don’t think it unlikely to make the assumption that with some training, probably benefit from that magic. He can also create a ward around his own body to protect himself from magic as well as a magical defense that is resistant to magic attacks. More importantly, Levi appears somehow tied to Eren’s abilities in that he is… I’m not sure if ‘immune’ is the correct word but he can counter some of Eren’s defenses and also receive the magic.” Erwin’s brows drew together as he continued to observe the couple. “Is the truth about a ‘key’ being hidden to protect them or to ensure that when one is in existence, only certain people know about them and so will benefit from their abilities?”

Levi’s scowl went up a notch as he sent a spirit to ruffle the mage’s immaculate blond hair. “As always, trust you to come up with the most disturbing hypothesis.”

“Yes, but *as always*, he does get to the heart of the matter,” Hange pointed out before she slurped her coffee.

“I don’t care – if someone wants to use Eren, they have to get through me,” Mikasa ground out as clutched at her scarf.

“I’m against that as well, we’re just trying to figure out a motive here,” Erwin agreed. “Because I’ve a feeling that these two things are interconnected – whoever hid the knowledge about Eren’s true nature and whoever is hunting down those who are after him.”

Well if the strong coffee that Mikasa had brewed for breakfast didn’t help to wake him up, Erwin’s theory certainly had Armin’s brain whirling about with various theories. He glanced aside to find Mikasa sitting ramrod-stiff beside him, her jaw jutting out and hands clenched as if she fought not to reach out and use her talent to pull Eren across the table to her. “That’s… that’s quite a conspiracy,” he said as he slipped a vial out of the pocket and held it up. “You know what I like about alchemy? There’s all these different compounds that you can mix together, all these possibilities, but you learn how to control them and predict the outcome. What you’re suggesting… that takes an insane amount of knowledge and resources, not to mention the magic….”

He looked away from the time to catch Erwin and Levi exchanging a significant look and then glance aside, one that raised suspicions inside of him in an instant. He opened his mouth to say something – and winced as Hange stepped on his foot. When he looked aside at her, she gave him a too-wide grin and poured more coffee into his mug. “Boy you must be tired, that was some yawn there! You didn’t have to stay up half the night with me.”

Armin stared at her in confusion for a few seconds while Mikasa patted her arm. “Maybe you should take a nap after breakfast while I help train with Eren.”

“Yeah, you have larger bags beneath your eyes than the old man over here,” Eren commented with a smirk that lasted until he got smacked on the back of the head by his boyfriend. “Ow!”

“Someone’s just begging to get his ass kicked today, isn’t he?” Levi drawled while Eren pouted beside him.

Eren slumped in his chair with folded his arms over his chest. “Why don’t you just stake me out with a neon sign saying ‘shifter here, come and get him’ and save me a lot of pain and aggravation?”

A slight smile transformed Levi’s face as he held up his mug. “Not nearly as much fun for me. I do so love the way you scream when the revenants are about to tear you apart.”

Everyone was quiet after that, until Eren made a frustrated growling sound. “You’re not joking. You’re seriously not joking. You – argh!” He reached over to snatch at the mug and slammed it onto the table before nearly crawling into Levi’s lap in an attempt to… Armin wasn’t quite sure what his friend was trying to do, but Hange was giggling while taking pictures with her phone and Mikasa began to push her chair away from the table while Erwin looked on and sighed. “Should just shift into a lion and eat you or something! Bet you taste lousy, though!”

“Funny, you had no complaints on the way I tasted last night,” Levi shot back as he caught Eren’s wrists so he could hold Eren’s arms up in the air to keep from being hit.

“My *sister* is right here,” Eren all but shrieked, his face a bright red.

“Uhm, I don’t really want to know this stuff, either,” Armin admitted.

“Haven’t you guys found the flavored lube yet?” Hange leaned over the table to get a better angle for the camera on her phone, while a also blushing Mikasa was on her way to Eren’s aid. “Aw, don’t interrupt!”

Mikasa let out a couple of threads but only waved them about in the air; she might be acting on the side of caution after the way Eren’s talent had reacted yesterday. “Let him go,” she warned Levi, “before things go too far.”

“Yes, let’s not spoil what was a nice breakfast and a serious conversation,” Erwin murmured into his mug.

Levi and Eren stilled at Mikasa’s warning, and then Levi clicked his tongue as he helped Eren sit up on his lap. “Later, brat.”

“Looking forward to kicking *your* ass for once.” Eren rubbed his wrists once they were released, but didn’t seem to be in a hurry to move from Levi’s lap.

“Yeah, like that’ll ever happen.” Levi reached around Eren for his mug of tea and frowned when he looked into it. “If we’re done here, time to start that ass-kicking.” He poked Eren in the ribs. “Go change into your robe.”

“Always so bossy,” Eren complained as he hopped off of Levi’s lap. “One day you’ll say ‘please’ and I’ll pass out from the shock.” Mikasa trailed after him, probably to get ready as well.

“Good luck with that – if Erwin and I haven’t taught our little grump manners in all these years, it’s a lost cause. But then again, we haven’t tried withholding sex from him as an enticement.” Hange laughed when spirits whirled around her and messed up her hair and glasses. “Aw come on, you should have a better sense of humor now that you’re getting some!”

“Why didn’t you send her off with Mike and Nanaba?” Levi asked Erwin as he gave Hange a rude gesture.

“Because she’s of more use to us here.” It sounded as if Erwin said that a lot, the words came out in a rote manner.

Not wanting to get caught in a fight between the three, Armin offered them a nervous smile as he rose from the table, hands busy collecting his and Mikasa’s plates. “Ah, you know what? I think I’m going to take that nap now.” Maybe get a little rest while Levi tried to kill Eren and Mikasa tried to kill Levi for killing Eren, and Hange and Erwin did… well, whatever they did. Yes, a great time to be unconscious, yes indeed.

Hange waved goodbye to him as he backed away from the table. “You can crash in my room if you want – Erwin and I are going to dig through some spells. Rest up so we can pick your brain later tonight.”

“Okay.” Despite the weirdness of Eren’s new relationship and the fact that his new friends were, well, odd, Armin had to admit that it was so good to see Eren again and to feel as if he was doing something other than just running. After rinsing off the dishes, he followed Hange’s advice and went to lie down so he’d be well rested to help out later – he had a feeling he’d need the energy for whatever spells she and Erwin cooked up.

*******

Mikasa lashed out with her threads, yet the gleaming strands failed yet again to find any purchase around Eren’s giant shape, failed to wrap around it and bind him tight. Something about the crystal armor that encased his masculine yet sexless form fended off the strands, just like it resisted any of the spells she tried as well. Levi wasn’t having any more luck with the spirits that enveloped her brother, though the revenants that attempted a more physical attack appeared to be wearing Eren down.

“How… many… gah!” Eren tore off the arms of what appeared to have been a dead mage and threw them behind him as he kicked the rest of the body aside. “Hange’s a serial… killer.”

“True, but I do recycle these poor guys after I put them back to rest.” Levi called up a fresh wave of undead with a half-smile and sent them toward Eren. “Waste not, want not.”

Eren made an odd choking sound in the back of his throat as he fought off the most current wave, his eyes burning bright and wide jaw jutting with vicious fangs. It was around the last two or three of the revenants that Mikasa noticed that the crystal ‘ward’ he was ‘wearing’ started to crack, so she used her threads to pull the undead away from him while calling out Levi’s name. The necromancer clicked his tongue a couple of times as he motioned with his left hand, and the dead just… ‘melted’ back into the ground while Eren wavered about on his feet before the crystal vanished into steam and he shifted back into his normal shape. Well, normal except that he was still a few inches too short. There was also the fact that he was naked and no longer sexless; she averted her eyes upward as a slight heat warmed her cheeks.

“At least you lasted longer than half an hour this time,” Levi chided as he grasped Eren by his upper arms to help steady him. “Pretty soon you’ll be up to an entire hour.”

“Oh, yay.” Eren rested his forehead against Levi’s shoulder. “Thanks to… psychopaths like… you.”

“I seem to remember someone telling me he’d eat my liver when we first met, so shut it, pot.” Levi smacked Eren’s backside as he frowned at something in the distance. A moment later, there was a flurry of spirits as Eren’s robe lifted off of the ground and was flung in Levi’s direction, which he managed to catch and drape over Eren’s shoulders.

Eren sighed as he twitched about enough so he could look over at Mikasa, who offered her brother an encouraging smile. “It’s very impressive, that ward of yours. I couldn’t touch you at all with my magic.”

“Well, thanks for taking it easy on me.” Eren seemed to have caught his breath as he slipped his arms into the sleeves of the robe even though he continued to lean against Levi. “Not sure I could handle you and the zombies trying to tear me apart.”

Levi frowned as he tugged at Eren’s hair. “Don’t call them that.”

“Whatever.” Eren rolled his eyes. “Are we done for now? I’m about to let one of them gut me if it’ll mean I can take a break.”

“Is he always this whiny?” Levi shook his head as he poked Eren in the side, yet Mikasa noticed that he allowed her brother to be so clingy. “If it’ll get you to shut up, fine, we’ll take a break.” He looked over at her and cocked his head to the side. “Want to see just how much of the Ackerman magic you inherited?”

At first she felt inclined to say ‘no’, yet there was no sarcasm or sense of judging to the way Levi asked the question, and Eren stared at her with a curious expression on his face, not one of disgust or horror despite the fact that they were discussing necromancy. This was something that had to do with her father, a gentle man who had taught her to look at all facets of life including death, and it would be another way for her to keep Eren and Armin safe. “All right.”

Levi’s bland expression didn’t change upon hearing her answer, but he did grunt a little as he patted Eren on the back. “Give me some space, you’re worse than a damn cat.”

“’mm tired.” Eren rubbed at his eyes as he pulled away from Levi yet still hovered near the older man. “Your magic feels good.”

“Then stop bitching about me lobbing spells at you all the time.” Levi’s lips twitched when Eren made that choking sound again and tugged at his hair. “You’d make a shitty poker player, you know that?”

“Just… teach her how to play with dead things so we can go back inside.” A pout formed on Eren’s face but didn’t last for long as he glanced at Mikasa. “You really okay with this? Not worried you’ll turn into a grouchy old ma-ow!” Now he was glaring at Levi while rubbing his just flicked ear.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured him, grateful for his concern and amused despite herself. “I don’t really do ‘grouchy’. Or ‘man’.”

“Enough fucking around.” Levi held his right hand up, fingers ready to flick, in Eren’s direction as a warning for a couple of seconds until Eren pressed his lips together. “Now, I want you to think about your magic,” he told Mikasa, “but don’t do anything with it just yet. Let it build inside of you for a few seconds.”

Trusting in the necromancer because Eren did, she closed her eyes and summoned her talent, felt the cool rush of it in her blood and bones. Her hands itched, as always, a thrum of energy that wanted to spill forth in myriad threads that could lash and bind, wrap and throttle and weave, could do so many things if she just concentrated. Yet she didn’t focus on anything, she just let the magic build and waited for Levi’s instructions.

After a few seconds, his deep voice continued. “Think about those times when you fought and someone died around you, when you felt that rush of energy inside of you. Think of how that energy is part of you yet separate – that’s what it feels like to touch the dead. They’re going to be a part of you yet not. Animated, yet not alive. Part of the earth and air, yet something else. You’re going to be searching for that bit of ‘other’, both in your magic and the world around you. If you can’t fucking get what I’m telling you then the lesson ends here.”

There was a spark of anger that *this* was how the man taught her the heritage her father had given her, but Mikasa forced the emotion aside and concentrated on what Levi had said before the snide remark, the part about that ‘other’. She reached into her magic, dug deep and found a pool of something colder inside the coolness, something that she had never truly paid attention to over the years as she had relied upon her mother’s half of her bloodline. It scared her a little, to be honest, because yes, it was a sense of ‘otherness’, it led to something outside of herself instead of just what lay within… but the more she clutched at it, the more she forced her awareness on it….

The more the ‘world’ opened up to her, and she gasped at what her magic revealed to her.

They weren’t sparks or bright lights but more a sense of voids, of potential that had been snuffed out that lurked beneath the surface of the earth and in clouds of the lingering past that hovered about in the air. She could sense the bodies which lay in their graves, empty vessels that stirred as her awareness passed over them.

“Yeah, I’d say you got it. You wanna try to bring one of them up or what?”

“Oh.” She opened her eyes and frowned as she tried to ‘grasp’ at one of the undead with her mind, yet nothing happened. Frustrated by how she failed to bend the corpse to her will, she narrowed her eyes and focused more on her magic but nothing happened.

Levi did that annoying clicking thing again while Eren stood behind him, his chin on the necromancer’s left shoulder and eyes bright with curiosity. “Her magic is all over the place.” He unwrapped his right hand from Levi’s broad chest to snatch at invisible things in the air. “If this was you, I think I’d be trying to fly away right now.”

“And I’d just use some spirits to catch your ass, unless you can ward yourself in the air.” Levi caught at Eren’s hand and replaced it around his chest. “Something for us to try later.”

“Slave driver.”

“Lazy brat.”

Mikasa grit her teeth together in growing frustration. “I’m trying to concentrate here, and your flirting is *not* helping.”

Eren’s cheeks heated up and he hid his face in the curve of Levi’s neck, yet Levi merely arched one of his eyebrows at her. “Just letting you flounder around a bit to see if you could figure it out – your brother made you out to be a bit of a prodigy.” When she bared her clenched teeth at him, he rolled his eyes and sighed. “You need to push the energy *into* the undead, not just *at* them, got it?”

“That doesn’t make… oh, wait.” Her temper faded as something about what Levi said ‘clicked’ in her mind, and she stopped trying to ‘grasp’ the revenant in the ground and allowed her magic to ‘soak’ into it instead. A gasp escaped her as she felt it stir and then slip up from the earth as if water flowing between the grains of dirt. “Oh… that’s amazing.”

Eren lifted his head to beam at her, his expression one of pride. “Knew you could do it.”

There was even a bit of grudging respect from Levi just then. “Have to say, not many catch on so fast – you’re definitely an Ackerman.”

Her first impulse was to take the comment as an insult, before she remembered that her father was an Ackerman – it would take some getting used to, the truth about her father and that side of her family. “Thank you, I think.”

The twisted smile Levi gave her led her to believe he understood the uncertainty behind her words. “Yeah, it’s a bit like those mixed blessings – ‘may you lead an adventurous life’ and shit like that. We may have targets pinned to our backs and be considered bastards by most if not all of the magical community, but we’re powerful as fuck.”

“Mikasa’s not a bastard,” Eren mumbled as he rubbed his cheek against Levi’s shoulder, much like a sleepy cat.

“You saying that *I’m* one?” When Eren just continued to rub his cheek against the wool of Levi’s coat, Levi reached back to give him a light smack to the head. “Least I come by it honestly, brat.”

“Nice life goals there, old man.” Eren blinked past Levi’s shoulder at the hulking revenant a few feet away. “You going to do anything with it?”

“Me?” Mikasa glanced away from her brother to stare at the revenant she had just raised. “Uhm, I don’t know?” She was happy that she’d managed to this much, really.

Levi sighed as he hauled Eren around to stand in front of him to reverse their positions. “Yeah, I can tell you two are related somehow.” When Eren opened his mouth to protest, he gave Eren’s ribs a squeeze. “Fuck, why am I stuck training the two of you?”

“You must have done something very special in the past,” Mikasa insisted as she used her threads to tug her brother free – however, the shift in her magical talent broke her control over the revenant and its lumbering toward her distracted her enough that Eren shrugged them off.

“Okay, I think this is a good time for a coffee break or something.” Eren tugged on the belt to his robe as he cast a longing gaze at the house. “The two of you can play with the dead things while I put on clothes and watch a movie.” He twirled the end of the belt around a little and began to walk away. “Have a nice bonding experience.” As he past it, Eren wiggled his fingers in the revenant’s face.

Mikasa and Levi watched Eren saunter away, then Levi turned to Mikasa. “Seriously, there was some sort of mental damage, right? Insanity run in the family?”

She buried the bottom half of her face in the scarf even as she shook her head to hide her smile. “His parents were perfectly normal.” Then her smile faded away. “At least, until his father disappeared.”

Levi’s incredulous expression changed to his usual blank stare as he gazed at the front of the house for a few seconds. “Grisha, huh?”

“Grisha Jaeger.” Mikasa paused for a moment before she continued. “He worked as a doctor at various hospitals in Shiganshina and Utgard.” Somehow, she didn’t think it was betraying anything to tell the man about their past, not when it was clear that Levi was working hard on protecting Eren.

“Eren’s mentioned that he was a doctor, but he gets upset talking about the man.” Levi tucked his hands into the pockets of his coat and shook his head. “Was always more willing to talk about you, the little he did discuss anything about growing up so we didn’t push.”

Despite the chill to the air, Mikasa felt a warmth suffuse her at the thought of Eren holding on to their childhood and time together. “He’s very dear to me.” She wondered if he’d told Levi how it was that they’d met – it hadn’t sounded like it when he’d prevented Hange from asking questions about her parents.

There was an inelegant snort from the necromancer as he stepped closer to the now still undead. “Doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. Still, let’s work a little more on this and then head inside – Erwin will be happy to have a new lead to follow if he hasn’t gotten the information out of your buddy already.”

Mikasa nodded, more than happy to wrap up the lesson with a useful skill and then go inside where it was warm – not to mention where her brother and best friend waited for her. She did her best to clear her mind and focus on the ‘new’ sense of magic before she reached out with it and pushed it inside of the revenant.

*******

There was something about running and mandrake roots and gold kittens of all things, and then Armin found himself jolted awake at the sound of grumbling. “Hunz?”

“*OW*. Oh! Sorry.” Hange laughed, the sound a bit self-conscious, and hobbled over to sit at the edge of the bed. “Didn’t mean to wake you.”

“That’s okay, I was sorta drifting in and out as it was.” Armin wiped at his eyes and cleared his throat as he sat up in bed. “What’s going on?”

“Well, we’re running low on supplies so I figured I’d run some errands, get some more food and a few other things.” She pushed back her glasses and looked over at him. “You want to come?”

He debated the question for a moment and decided it might be good to get out of the house for a little bit – it was great to be with Eren again, but yeah, the place wasn’t meant for six people – he was grateful that Mike and Nanaba had left last night after dinner. “Okay, just give me a couple of minutes to get ready.”

“Yes!” Hange pumped her right fist in the air as she jumped off of the bed. “It’s always nice to have slave labor for these things!” Her smile faded after a few seconds. “Usually it’s Moblit, but I don’t know what’s taking him so long on this latest errand.”

She’d mentioned her assistant a few times already, and between what she’d said and the comments from Levi and Erwin, Armin had to wonder if the poor guy wasn’t deliberately dragging out the task for a break from Hange’s weird demands. “Well, promise to take it easy on me, all right.”

That prompted a return to her good humor. “Hmm, yeah, we won’t break you on the first trip.” She grabbed a sweater that had been thrown on top of a pile of clothes and began to pull it over the white t-shirt she wore as she left the room. “Dress warm, since it’s getting colder out there.”

Rubbing his face again, he took a moment to enjoy the warm sheets before he pushed them aside and crawled out of the bed, then went over to the corner where he and Mikasa had left their bags; Hange had been nice to allow them her room since she claimed that she and Erwin kept weird hours between the research and ‘bossy stuff’. Not that the two of them had much to store away, other than the backpacks that he’d been lucky enough to whammy with a displacement spell he’d found which allowed him to triple the bags’ capacity; Erwin had been impressed and wanted to compare notes with him about it. Eren had been given a similar backpack, but had admitted last night that he’d lost it a few months ago while on the run, which explained why he was mostly wearing Levi’s clothes at the moment.

Thankful that they had access to a washing machine once again, Armin pulled out one of his remaining clean sweatshirts and pulled it on over the t-shirt he’d worn to bed along with a pair of comfortable jeans then grabbed his satchel. All that was left was to grab his coat and shoes by the front door, so he left the room and found everyone else out in the living room.

“-to look up a few things with some contacts of mine,” Erwin said as he removed his trench coat from the hook near the door. “I should be back by dinner.”

“I don’t see how you’re going to find anything about Grisha at this point.” Eren had that particular look on his face, a mix of stubbornness and resentment that was the norm when discussing his missing father. “It’s why I didn’t say much about him in the first place. You don’t think we tried finding him when he disappeared in the first place?”

Erwin paused in wrapping a plaid scarf around his neck while Mikasa made a soothing rub of her hand up and down Eren’s left arm. “Probably not, but sometimes there’s telling details in how well a person’s hidden himself and the means he went to in order to cover his trail. I also know some people who’ve helped others disappear, which I doubt you do.” He held Eren’s attention until Armin’s friend huffed and looked aside. “That, and there’s a few other matters I need to look into, so I wish you a good day.” Erwin nodded to Levi, who was standing near Eren.

“Cover your damn back – if anyone follows you, I’ll kill you.”

Erwin smiled at the threat. “Yes, thank you, I’ll take care. See you soon.” He waved goodbye as he headed out of the door.

Levi grunted as he looked over at Hange and Armin, and pulled out a piece of paper from the front right pocket of his black jeans. “Same goes for the two of you – anyone manages to follow you home, I’ll slit your throats myself. Forget anything on that list or sub something cheap and generic for it, my foot will be so far up your ass you’ll shit out my boot a week later, understand?”

Hange wrinkled her nose as she accepted the shopping list. “Seriously, it took me over an hour to find that one brand of bleach for you last time.” When Levi’s brows drew together in an impressive scowl, she sighed and flapped her left hand about. “Fine, fine, it’ll be an adventure, yes? And a lesson to Armin about the perils of OCD’ness.” She spun around just as Levi lunged for her, his face twisted in anger, but luckily Eren managed to get in his way and more or less restrain him.

“Let’s go make some tea,” Armin’s friend called out in a voice a little high as he pushed Levi toward the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Mikasa shook her head and helped Armin with his coat. “They’re hopeless.” Yet there was a hint of a smile on her face despite that judgment call.

That wasn’t what he expected to hear from her. “Oh, so you’re okay with them?”

She paused while holding on to the back of his coat as if to consider the question. “Oddly enough… yeah.” That was all, she didn’t elaborate but continued to smile just a little.

Well, if Levi had Mikasa’s approval then who was Armin to judge? “That’s good.” He wanted Eren to be happy, even if his choice in men was a bit scary and seemed to drive Eren crazy half of the time. “Need anything while I’m out?”

“Some new socks and if you could pick up a new sweatshirt and a pair of gloves, that would be great.”

Used to buying for each other as they were over the years, he nodded as he zipped up his coat. “Okay, I’ll probably pick up a couple of things for myself as well.” He almost called out to Eren to ask if his friend needed anything, but figured that Eren would have said something by now. “Be back soon.”

Mikasa waved goodbye as she made her way toward the bedroom, probably to rest since she appeared a little tired; maybe the practice session had worn her out. He’d have to ask her how it had gone, Eren’s new ability and all.

Once outside, Armin shivered and hurried over to the beat-up hatchback that Hange had idling in the driveway. It was covered in mud and dust, but thankfully was clean on the inside; something must have showed on his face since Hange chuckled as she shifted it into first gear. “Yeah, Levi cleaned it out the other day.” There was a sense of her magic as the car hurtled forward, which he put down to some sort of protective or diversion spells.

“Uhm, yeah, he’s big on that, isn’t he?”

“Just a little. I know Eren’s a keeper because the boy actually pitches in and helps out with the house.” She hummed a little as the car sped up down the road as soon as Armin was seated inside. He shivered a little, but the heat began to kick in so that at least helped with the cold – fear from Hange’s driving was another thing entirely. “Almost makes you believe in that true love crap, Levi finding someone who will put up with… well, *him*.” She paused to squint at something ahead on the road. “Not to imply that he’s an ogre or something, I mean, he’s one of my best friends and I adore him, there’s lots of reasons for someone to scoop his finicky ass up – I mean, there’s his  *ass* and let’s not even get started on those abs of his.” She shook her head as if to clear it of something and swerved around nothing that Armin could see. “Not helping. Where was I, right. But yeah, one or two drawbacks.”

“Like him being a feared necromancer and an Ackerman?” Armin offered as he made sure his seatbelt was secured.

“Hmm, yeah, stuff like that.” Hange took both hands off of the wheel to wave them about. “And a grumpy bastard. People need to see past labels and being yelled at for not sorting their laundry properly.” She grimaced and jerked the car out of the opposite lane just in time to avoid hitting another car head on. “Eren’s good for him.”

“I’m so happy for them both,” Armin managed to get out through gritted teeth as he forced his fingers to unclench from the dashboard. “Really. So, while we’re still in one piece, do you mind if I ask a question?”

“Hmm?” Hange stopped giving the finger to the car blaring its horn at her to glance his way. “What? If it’s about me and Levi, nope, never did the dirty deed with him.”

“Gah, no, it wasn’t that.” Armin scrubbed his hands over his face and debated reaching into his satchel for a potion to make him forget about the time spent in the car. “I was hoping you could tell me what it is the three of you are hiding from Eren.”

It was quiet in the car for about a minute or so, as Hange appeared to concentrate on the road for once. Then she hummed a little and turned onto the highway. “What makes you say that?” Her tone was light, but there was a tightness around her eyes and the way her hands clutched at the wheel.

Armin forced himself to remain relaxed in the seat. “I noticed the way you, Erwin and Levi were acting at breakfast, and it was as if you were avoiding coming out and saying something. That leads me to believe that you know something you don’t want to say something in front of Eren.”

“Huh.” Hange cut off a lorry as she pulled onto the highway. “You’re definitely a bright one, aren’t you?” There was a grudging respect to her voice as she ignored the rush of cars around them to flash him a grin. “You gonna go rushing off to tell Mikasa if you find out the truth?”

He considered his options as he did his best to ignore how close they came to the other vehicles as she wove in and out of traffic. “Ah, I guess it depends on what you tell me, to be honest. I’ll probably talk to Mikasa about it because she has Eren’s best interest at heart… why, is there a reason I shouldn't”

Hange took her left hand off the wheel to cock her finger at him. “Well, you know her best so we'll trust your judgement on that, but Eren tends to get obsessive about stuff so Levi's been doing his best to distract Eren from thinking about it too much. So, Mike and Nanaba found a bunch of slashed up bodies that didn’t seem right, and called Erwin. Erwin dragged Levi off to look at them… and they concluded that Eren’s not the only shifter out there.”

Armin waited for the blood witch to continue, for there to be something else, for her to laugh and add ‘I’m kidding’, but Hange continued to wreak havoc on the road and hummed along to the sound of screeching tires and blaring horns.

“Wait, are you serious?” He twisted about as much as he could in the seat while still wearing the seatbelt and stared in disbelief at Hange. “Shifters? Are you serious?”

She nodded and flicked on the wipers as a light rain started. “Yeppers, as serious as the black plague, which really isn’t that fun. Levi did this neat trick he has of reading the dead’s memories and says that there’s at least three of them out there.”

Armin paused to consider that, his worldview rocked by the fact that Eren, his best friend, wasn’t the only shifter anymore. “But why? I mean, all of those mages are tearing things apart to get at Eren – what if they find out about the others?”

“See, I said you were bright.” Hange tapped her fingers against the steering wheel and smiled. “So either those other mages know that Eren’s a key, they have no clue about those other shifters, both, or, or there’s something about those shifters that scare away those mages. Considering that we’ve never heard of them before, I’m thinking it’s one of the first three.”

He chewed on a hangnail as he considered things as well. “It might also be why we’re not finding out anything about a ‘key’ – if they can hide themselves so well, they can bury the truth about Eren’s nature.”

“Uh-huh, which is what I think has Levi even grouchier than normal – if they have that much pull, they’re going to be nasty as fuck to fight. And while he’s usually all in for a drag out, bruiser of a fight, I think they’re going to be hard to pin down.” Hange’s mouth twisted as if she wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of an elusive enemy, either.

All things considered, Armin couldn’t blame her, not after watching Eren in action all these years and knowing some of the things his friend could do in a fight. “Are we even sure that there’s only three more of them?”

“That’s what Erwin’s trying to find out, along with maybe where Eren’s dad went off too – I’m pretty sure that Grisha’s also a shifter after reading Eren’s blood.” Hange shook her head and sped up the wipers. “That gene was just too dominant in the boy.”

“It would explain how Grisha vanished so easily.” For all they knew, he could be living as a woman or even a child somewhere and not the middle-aged man everyone was looking for – or even be in an animal form if he was as talented at shifting as Eren. “He could be almost anything or anyone.”

Hange let out a high-pitched squeal as she pounded her left hand on the steering wheel. “It’s so exciting! I’d kiss Eren for bringing all this wonderful stuff into my life, but Levi probably would gut me.”

Armin gritted his teeth as they just avoided rear-ending another car. “Just ask Levi to do it for you. So, how much longer until we reach the store?” Please let it be soon.

“Hmm? Oh, another ten or fifteen minutes. You wanna get lunch while we’re out?” Hange grinned at him while she cut off an SUV twice the size of her car.

Armin shook his head as he cringed down in his seat and hoped that they made it back home in one piece.

******

Eren sat on a pillow on the floor with Levi on the couch behind him, tucked between his boyfriend’s legs as they shared a pot of tea. “So what, now there’s three Ackermans?”

Levi’s fingers in his hair stilled for a moment, and then gave a gentle tug before continuing to comb through the strands. “Unless there’s another surprise like your sister, yeah, that should be about right.”

Holding onto his own mug of black tea with both of his hands, Eren chewed his bottom lip and wondered if he should say anything else; he could feel Levi’s emotions, the guardedness and sense of pain, along with some resignation. There was a heavy sign and those fingers massaged at his scalp. “Like I said, never play poker, you little shit.”

“Hmm?” Eren tilted his neck so he could glance back at his lover. “What do you mean?”

“You want to know about my family, right?” Levi’s face was revealed nothing, but there was a hint of amusement to his emotions now.

Eren frowned a little as he twisted around to rest his left arm and chin on Levi’s thigh. “Uhm, well, not too much, really, but there’s that… uncle, right? Kenny?” Levi had called him his uncle at one point, hadn’t he?

“I thought so.” Levi had some tea before he set his mug aside. “There’s not much to say, really, other than he’s the nastiest fuck alive, more or less. He took me in when my mom died,” there was a spike of pain and loss there, “though why he bothered, I really don’t know. Some fucked up sense of familial obligation maybe, because it wasn’t that he wanted to raise a kid.” Now there was anger and a simmering sense of hate. Eren frowned as he reached out and touched his fingers to Levi’s chest.

The gesture made Levi smile, ever so slightly. “Must be a pain in the ass, to feel what I do, huh?”

“I don’t know, it’s nice to not be stuck just inside my head all of the time.” Eren thought about what he said and grimaced. “I mean, sometimes I get so angry and caught up in things that it’s good, having these other emotions. It jolts me back.” Like when he thought about his father or when he was fighting.

“You really are a brain-dead brat,” Levi teased as he tucked aside the hair falling onto Eren’s face, his fingers lingering for a few seconds. “But back to Kenny.” Levi’s grey eyes grew unfocused as he stared past Eren while he talked. “I think it got to be too much for him, how people treat our bloodline. Think he’s out there determined that if people are going to fear necromancers and Ackermans in particular, he’ll be their worst nightmare.”

Eren had heard a few stories about ‘Kenny the Butcher’, about the necromancer who always added to the coterie of dead around him wherever he went. The necromancer willing to kill with his own hands as well as that of the revenants he could summon as easily as breathing. Those stories also said that the ‘great’ Levi was cut from the same cloth, that Levi was just as deadly if not more so…. Eren closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. “So he trained you?”

“Yeah, have to give him that much credit, he taught me what I needed to know about necromancy and how to fight before he fucked off.” There was a bitterness to Levi’s voice and emotions that didn’t last for long. “Probably did it so I didn’t slow him down, but it was for the best, really.”

“Hmm. Well, don’t think you’re anything like him.” Eren scooted a little closer so he could drape both arms over his lover’s thigh. “You’re not a monster.”

Levi stared at him with that blank expression for several seconds, his emotions once more ‘choppy’ but different from in the morning, not a mix of darkness and anger and other things but more disbelief and incredulousness and… and… bah, Eren wasn’t good at this stuff. He was still trying to figure it out when Levi grabbed onto the nape of his neck and pulled him upward enough for a kiss, one that was surprisingly gentle. “Brat… you’re such an idiot,” he murmured as he broke it off.

“Oh, screw you,” Eren grumbled as he sank back down on his knees. “Forget it, you are a monster.”

“Nope, too late for you to take it back,” Levi insisted as he ran the pads of his fingers along the back of Eren’s neck until he shivered. “Besides, you’ve already told me that I’m ‘great’, right?” A hint of a smile hovered on his lips as he gazed down at Eren.

“Right, you’re an egotistical bastard, if anything,” Eren complained as he reached for his tea, hoping the hot beverage explained why his face felt a little warm – and grateful that Levi couldn’t sense *his* emotions.

“Most great men are.” Levi didn’t seem bothered by the insult. “Not that a simple brat like you would understand.”

“You….” Eren set the mug back on the floor and shook his head. “Tell me again why I’m putting up with this?”

Levi didn’t reply, at least not verbally – he just gave Eren a heated look with those hooded eyes of his while the sense of his magic increased, and Eren sighed as he settled back between his lover’s thighs. “You’re such an asshole,” he muttered even as he wanted to climb up on the couch and tuck against the bastard.

“Hmm, guess that’s your type, then.”

“And smug, at that.” Eren glowered at nothing in particular as he picked up his mug. He shivered when he felt Levi’s fingers once more comb through his hair. “What?”

Levi slid forward on the couch so he could murmur in Eren’s ear, his breath warm and emotions a heady mix of desire, anticipation and something else. “We still have some time before Hange and Armin return with the groceries.” His touch skimmed down along the side of Eren’s neck to settle against his beating pulse.

“Uhm.” Mikasa was still resting after her training so they would have to be quiet… but okay, quiet was good. Eren set aside his unfinished tea and rose to his feet, Levi’s hands trailing along his body as if his lover didn’t want to lose contact. “Yeah, okay.”

Levi gave an amused snort as his long fingers wrapped round Eren’s left wrist to lead him to their room. “Eloquent as always, but good enough.”

Part of Eren wanted to snap back, but the rest of him didn’t care, not when Levi felt like this, when *he* felt like this, so he just swallowed past a throat gone dry as he followed his lover, lost to their anticipation of what was to come.

*******

Annie huddled inside of the old Army coat of her father’s and wished that they’d stopped for coffee after all since this was taking longer than anticipated. A few feet away, Hitch shoved her phone into the pocket of her fancy, too thin jacket and shivered. “How much longer?”

“However long it takes,” Annie repeated for what had to be like the eight time. “I warned you that this might take some time so it’s your own fault if you’re cold.”

Hitch’s finely plucked brows drew together as if she was about to complain, but Reiner coughing into his right hand made her frown and shove her hands deeper into the pockets of her jacket. Judging from the unhappy frown on Bertolt’s face, he was probably a couple of minutes away from removing either his nice leather jacket or the wool sweater beneath it and offering it to the necromancer – at least, until Reiner put a stop to his foolish kindness.

“Is everything ready?” Annie asked as a distraction, cold herself and more than a little bored.

Hitch sighed, the sound much too annoyed and weary for the situation, and Annie had to remind herself that there were precious few necromancers out there if they did away with this one. “Yes, I’ve prepped the ground so I’ll have plenty of resources to call upon as well as know if anyone follows the target.” She pulled her right hand out of the pocket of her jacket so she could buff its nails in such a cliché gesture.

Reiner rolled his eyes at her actions before he nodded at Annie. “We’re ready with the spells. Even if he’s under geas, we got that one potion from-“ The sound of a familiar ringtone cut him off and made him go pale, just as Annie’s spine straightened and Bert gasped in surprise.

Reiner reached into the inner pocket of his coat even as he stepped aside, a flush spreading across his face to replace the pallor. “Ah, sir?” He nodded even though the person on the other end couldn’t see him. “Yes, sir, this is Reiner. Yes.” Even with Annie’s sharp hearing, she couldn’t make out much on the other end of the phone.

“Hmm, it’s rare that you see the big guy jump to anyone but you,” Hitch cracked as she glanced back and forth between Reiner and Annie.

“Don’t,” Annie warned the girl. “I told you from the start that there were some things you were to keep out of, and this is one of them.” Something, either her tone or the expression on her face, made Hitch hold up both hands and shake her head.

“Fine, it was just a joke – consider me butting out.” Yet she cast a curious glance Reiner’s way before looking aside. “Should have figured that you answered to someone higher up.”

It was a shame that the girl was talking herself into an early grave, but she was uncovering too many secrets. Annie shared an unhappy look with Bertolt before she caught the tail-end of Reiner’s discussion, which really made her wonder what else could go wrong just then. “-we know, we’re doing what we can to bring hi- to finish it. Just a little longer.” Reiner’s jaw clenched as he listened to what were probably more orders. “Yes, it’s understood. Whatever it takes. Yes, sir.” He flinched just then, and looked as if he wanted to throw the phone aside instead of lowering it from his ear as he ended the call. “How much longer until this guy shows up?”

Annie ignored the churlish tone to his voice since she knew it wasn’t really directed at her. “You were there when we received the intel – he should be coming along this way any time now.” It had been a nightmare to track down any leads on Levi Ackerman himself, but they had been able to find out a few known acquaintances of the infamous necromancer – including a blood witch by the name of Hange. She might be as elusive as Levi, but after some persuasion, an earth mage had admitted that she had an assistant who usually came along this way when out on errands for her. They’d already taken care of the shop owner inside, and now all they had to do was wait for the assistant to arrive.

“Well, if he doesn’t show up soon, we’ll have to try another of the leads.” Reiner took to pacing in front of the herb shop. “Maybe the air mage we heard about in Karanese?” There was a note of stress of to his voice that as his claws began to grow.

“He’ll be here soon,” Bert assured him as he hurried over to his boyfriend’s side. “It-it’ll be fine.”

Not that they had much choice in the matter, not if *he* was getting impatient. Annie rubbed at the back of her neck and thought of home, thought of her dad’s encouraging smile and wondered why it seemed that things were getting out of control. “Just give it some time, the owner said he’s supposed to pick up an order today.”

“Well, it’s going to get ugly if any other customers show up,” Reiner snapped.

About to point out that they were *shifters*, Annie stilled when a spirit swirled around Hitch and caused her brown hair to blow about in its created breeze. “There’s someone coming,” she warned. “It might be your guy.”

Annie motioned for Bert to go inside the small shop to pretend to be the owner while she, Reiner and Hitch milled around their SUV as if customers hanging out before they drove away. She made a show of opening the door when a small sedan pulled up to the shop and came to a stop. As soon as she recognized the face through the windshield, she nodded to Hitch.

They pretended to climb into the vehicle, and just as the doors closed, their target seemed to glance around as if checking things out before he exited the car. He barely got a couple of feet away before hands reached up from the ground to grab onto his legs and spirits whirled around him to trap him into place. His brown eyes went wide and he attempted to shift, until Annie threw open the SUV’s door and hit him with a spell that would prevent that from happening.

“He’s here?” Bert came rushing out of the store, his shape shifting back to normal as he hit the ground running.

“Yes, you have the potion ready?” Reiner rushed to stand in front of their target, his claws fully extended and his body encased in armor just in case the were knew any spells.

Bert nodded as he patted the front of his coat twice. Meanwhile, Annie joined Reiner and turned to look over her shoulder at Hitch. “Call back the spirits but keep them ready – and watch out in case you need to read his.” Hopefully the potion would work to break any geas on the were, but they had Hitch if he died without telling them what they needed.

“I aim to please.” For once Hitch didn’t sound all sarcastic, and she motioned away the spirits with a simple wave while having a revenant rise more from the ground to hold the were captive.

The were wasn’t much to look at, his light brown hair soaked with sweat and plastered onto his face, his physique lacking when compared to Reiner’s. But there was intelligence in his eyes and a stubborn set his jaws as he refused to speak – even to ask what was going on - which warned Annie that he wouldn’t give up the information that they needed without painful incentive.

She huddled inside of the overlarge jacket as she regarded him in silence for several seconds and nodded once, then pulled out her right hand to show a set of claws which rivalled Reiner’s. “You know we can make this quick if you just tell us what we want, right?”

When his jaws clenched even tighter and he closed his eyes, she sighed and motioned for Reiner to step forward.

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I worry that the trio scenes come across as a bit repetitive, but swear that the next one will shake things up a bit!


	6. There 's daggers in men's smiles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, there's some answers in this chapter, maybe one or two (maybe not the most obvious, but a glimmer of light). At the least, you find out what happened to poor Moblit....  
> Not entirely sure I'm pleased how the fight scene turned out but there it is.  
> Anyway, thanks ever so much for the comments and kudos left so far on the story! It's ever so much appreciated and motivation.

*******

Erwin sipped his latte while he waited for Nile to arrive at the small coffee shop, another of his ‘normal’ run businesses but one he was willing to sacrifice if necessary. He was halfway through his drink when his old friend showed up, bundled in a dark wool coat with a hand-knitted scarf wrapped around his neck; the bright blue material must have been a trial effort, since it was off a couple of stitches here and there.

He waited while Nile ordered a coffee of his own and smiled once the fire mage settled in the chair opposite of his. “I see Marie has taken up knitting.”

Nile touched the scarf wrapped around his neck and flushed at the attention. “Go ahead and laugh, she’s busy knitting one for you right now – it’s bright orange.”

“Then I look forward to receiving it.” Erwin did, too – it wasn’t often he received gifts made with care like that, and he was certain that Marie probably imbued the wool with some sort of spell as she made it. “However, we’re not here to talk about your lovely wife.”

His stressing the fact that Marie was indeed *Nile’s* wife seemed to put his old friend at ease. “Yes, and I don’t have much time.” Nile glanced around the small room as it to ensure that they were the only magically-talented beings present. “I don’t know how you find these places.” There was a slight smile on his face as he shook his head.

“Careful research, and Yelp helps, believe it or not.” Erwin smirked as he sipped his latte. “So, what do you know about Eren?”

Nile’s smile vanished and he stroked his thin goatee as he set his coffee cup down on the small table. “It’s not good – I honestly don’t know why the powers that be are so desperate to get their hands on that poor kid.” He frowned as he stared at the white cup. “I’ve talked to some of the old timers in the organization, and they’re just as confused – they remember another shifter from about two centuries ago or so, and they claim that nowhere near as much effort was put into bringing her in.” He raised his head to stare intently at Erwin. “There’s something special about this kid, right?”

Erwin didn’t want to dishonor the friendship with Nile, nor the risk that his friend was going through to provide this information. “There is, but please don’t ask me what, exactly.” He let out a slow breath. “Though to be honest, we’re still trying to figure out what that is.”

“You, Levi and Hange, right?” At Erwin’s narrowed look, Nile shook his head and sat back in his chair. “You know the hounds are out for Levi, right? There’s a lot of chatter out on the street about him, trying to track him down. All we know is he has the kid, and let me tell you, the higher ups are *not* happy about that.” Nile once again rubbed along his goatee. “Don’t see why they care if a necromancer has a shifter, except that he’s an Ackerman and so a vicious bastard, but there it is. Though lately, I think they’ve figured out he’s gone to ground with Hange and *that* is never a good combination.”

“Duly noted.” Erwin was careful to neither confirm nor deny that Levi was with Hange, though it concerned him, that people were connecting the dots that quickly. Hange took great pains to hide her location, but they might have to prepare to move on faster than they had hoped.

He took a few deep swallows of his latte and set down the almost empty cup. “Well, I wish I could say that this was a good visit, but you’ve been the bearer of some not very happy news.”

Nile reached out to latch onto his right arm as if to prevent him from standing up and walking away. “Is that it? I risk my neck and you’re not going to give me anything in return?”

“I wasn’t going to leave just yet.” Erwin felt a stab of pity for his friend just then, at the thin line Nile must walk each day over being Reiss’ lackey yet doing what he could to promote a day when mages weren’t tied to such an archaic system of fealty. If only his friend had been able to break free back then, along with him, Hange and Mike… but Nile had worried about Marie and the cost of living on the run. Erwin pushed aside the cup of coffee and leaned forward. “Be careful, because you can’t trust just anyone.” When Nile frowned and shook his head, probably to say he knew that, Erwin scowled and called up a spark of hellfire. “No, I’m not referring to the fact that you’re helping us out, I mean that things aren’t always what they seem.” He allowed the spark to linger for a moment before extinguishing it before someone else noticed it. “*People* aren’t always who they seem.”

Nile’s dark eyes went wide as he glanced from where the spark had burned to Erwin’s face. “Wait, are you telling me…. You know, why do I bother talking to you?” He raised his cup of coffee and drained it as if the beverage could wash away some awful taste in his mouth. “Some of us prefer to live in ignorance,” he griped as he glanced aside.

“Some of us don’t have that good fortune,” Erwin pointed out as he folded his arms on top of the table. “I’m advising you to be careful for your sake, and Marie’s.”

Nile’s face paled at mention of his wife. “Yeah, thanks.” He rubbed his right hand over his face as if he could wipe away a bad memory. “Maybe it would be a good time to go away like she’s been wanting.”

As much as Erwin could use the information that Nile provided, he had to agree with his friend. “That sounds like a plan.” He sighed as he rested back in his chair. “I… something tells me that things are about to get nasty.” He held up his hand as if to summon the fire but stared at his fingers instead, mindful of the people around them. “I don’t like how… how *blatant* everyone is acting. How desperate. That speaks to me of grand gestures at some point, and grand gestures… they tend to catch up a lot of people in their path.”

“Says the man who’s an expert at grand fucking gestures,” Nile scoffed. “That’s it, I’m heading home and telling Marie to pack her bags – she can knit while sitting on a beach somewhere.” Nile rose to his feet yet hesitated before leaving. “Just… be around so I can give you that awful scarf when we get back, okay?”

“I truly do look forward to it,” Erwin promised. “Enjoy your vacation.”

Nile waved his right hand about as he picked up his cup of coffee. “Keep checking your email – people pass stuff on to me and if I come across anything of interest… well, just keep checking it.” He appeared a bit guilty then, as if he knew he was running away when the fight was getting difficult but couldn’t help himself. However, Erwin would rather that Marie was safe and at least one friend was spared so all he did was smile and nod.

“That would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.” Erwin waved to Nile and watched as his old friend left the coffee house, yet remained seated for a while longer so he could observe the people in the shop to ensure that no one had followed Nile. Once he was certain that their meeting went unobserved, he picked up the empty cups so he could throw them out and returned to the counter to order another drink since he still had a few more leads to follow up before he could return back to Hange’s – after taking great care that no one followed him and that his trail was wiped clean by all magical and mundane means.

Levi hadn’t been entirely serious when he’d said that he’d kill Erwin if anyone followed him back to the house, but he hadn’t been entirely kidding, either. Erwin knew that his friend would be highly displeased with him if he was the one to endanger Eren and Hange through any carelessness, so he would go through every effort to ensure that Reiss, the mysterious shifters or anyone else after Eren didn’t find the boy through a mistake that he made.

He just worried about all of the other ways that their enemies could track them down.

******

Levi gathered his and Eren’s empty plates and got up to put them in the sink to soak now that breakfast was over. “So, who’s joining in on the ‘kick Eren’s ass’ session today?” His lips twitched at the way his lover groaned at the new name he’d given their training sessions.

“I’d like to work on the necromancy some more, so count me in.” When Eren groaned again, Mikasa made a soothing sound. “It’s not like I’ll let them maul you too much.”

“Thanks, that’s so reassuring,” Eren grumbled as he folded his forearms on the table and then laid his chin on them. “Wonder if I can shift into a rhino or something. A very big, warded rhino with lots and lots of spikes.

“Might as well go for a dinosaur or something like that.” Armin reached into his satchel and pulled out a couple of vials. “I think I’ll join you – I want to try out a few things myself.” He grinned when Eren took to groaning again. “I’m interested in that ward of yours, I think maybe if I can catch a bit of it when it’s disintegrating, I can work up a counteragent.”

“Great, take away the one thing I have going for me.” Eren sat back in his chair and ran his fingers through the unruly mop that was his hair. “Why do you have to go and ruin everything?”

“Hmm, because it’s fun?” Armin gave him an innocent smile for a couple of seconds before a more serious expression came over his face, and Levi noticed the way that the alchemist glanced at Hange. “Still, you said that Levi managed to tweak a spell that zaps you back into your original, well, your everyday form.” Armin gave Levi a nervous smile as if uncertain if he was still upset about Eren being down a few inches in height. “It might be good for us to be able to crack you out of your ward in case something happens.”

Hange had told Levi and Erwin last night that Armin had figured out that something was going on and so had been told about the other shifters, and so far it looked as if the kid was worth that bit of trust. It also looked as if Eren wasn’t that bothered about his friend trying to rob him of one of his best defenses, since all the brat did was shrug and give Armin a lopsided smile. “Okay, I trust you. I know there’s times when I… well, I trust you.” He looked away from Armin to stare at Levi, who remembered what Eren had said yesterday about not minding about the emphatic link.

There was a hint of pink to Armin’s cheeks as he nodded. “*If* I can figure it out, I promise, I won’t go sharing it with just anyone.” Then a sly smile spread across his face. “Unless you vanish again, and then I’m posting it online.”

“Gah.” Eren kicked at the foot of Armin’s chair. “That was for your benefit!”

“I’ll even help him post it,” Mikasa added as she rose from the table with her dirty dishes, and paused to give Eren’s head a pat. “Who wants more coffee?”

Both Hange and Armin raised their mugs, so she fetched the pot and returned it to the table once she dropped the dishes in the sink, while Levi refilled his mug with some more tea before settling next to Eren. “You really think you can whammy Eren’s ward?” Hange asked before she slurped her drink, much to Levi’s disgust.

“Well, I’ll need some supplies.” Armin rummaged through his bag and frowned. “We haven’t had much of a chance to restock lately, not once we got a decent lead on Eren. At least I could pick up a few things yesterday but there’s still some important herbs and minerals I need.”

“Moblit’s bringing a bunch of stuff for me from a shop that’s really good, and if there’s anything you’re still missing, I can send him back out for me.” Hange bit her bottom lip with what looked to be frustration and shook her head. “I expected him back by now.”

“Maybe he got picked up for not wearing a collar with tags,” Levi teased. That or he was taking a needed sanity break.

Hange paused to give him the finger. “Ha, ha. Pixis probably got him so drunk that the poor guy is nursing one hell of a hangover.” She sighed into her mug before slurping some more coffee, probably just to annoy Levi. “But he’ll be here soon, you can always rely on my Moby-baby.”

“At least the guy gets the opportunity to get out and around,” Eren complained as he slumped against Levi. “I think I’m about to go stir crazy.”

Levi jabbed his elbow into his lover’s side. “Tough shit – what’s better, you being stuck here or some mage’s mindless slave?” When Eren whined into his shoulder, he pushed the brat upright. “Come on, if you’ve time to think up such stupid shit, we’re going to practice.” He left the dishes to Armin and Mikasa as he dragged Eren to their bedroom.

“It’s not stupid – okay, maybe it is a little.” Eren had a mulish look on his face as he skulked along at Levi’s heels and spared a wave for Erwin, who was busy doing something with Hange’s laptop. “It’s just… I’m not used to staying in one place this long, okay?”

Levi closed the bedroom door behind them and waited for Eren to settle on the bed, his expression still a bit sullen but the sense of his magic almost placid, so he couldn’t be that upset; maybe Levi didn’t have an emphatic link of his own with the brat, but he was learning to judge the intensity of Eren’s magic around him as a barometer of what his lover was feeling. “And that’s a bad thing? Thought you were enjoying being with your sister and friend, and learning stuff.” He thought that Eren was enjoying being with him.

Eren sighed as he played with the ends of his jaw-length hair, at first tugging on the strands and then flicking them back. “I am, but it’s… I don’t know.” He let out another breath of air, this one louder, as he fell back onto the bed. “It’s just that it’s almost unnatural, not being on the move. I feel like I have this huge target on me.”

Levi let out a loud scoff as he joined Eren on the bed. “You idiot, you *do* have a target on you.” He stretched out beside his lover and flicked him in the forehead, something that Eren didn’t even bother to avoid. “Did you wake up with even less brains than normal.”

Eren made a low growling sound as he sought after Levi’s hand and caught it after a couple of tries. “You… I mean I feel like even *more* of a target. Something inside of me itches and I just…” He closed his eyes and sighed. “Part of me is happy to have this break, but there’s something inside that tells me that I need to start running, to get ahead before… argh, I don’t know.” He rubbed at his face as if to wipe away something.

Levi waited until Eren dropped his hands to give him another flick, this one gentler than before. “What, you don’t think we’ll keep you safe?” The question came out rougher than he had intended, since he felt as if Eren was questioning *his* abilities just then.

The smile Eren gave him was slow and shy, and the sense of magic grew with each heartbeat as Eren reached for him. “I think it’ll be terrifying, what you’ll do if they catch up with us, but that itch… it doesn’t go away.” His fingers slid into Levi’s hair and stayed there. “Doesn’t make any sense, right?”

“No, but what does when it comes to you?” Levi leaned forward so he could brush their lips together. “Just means you need to be distracted.”

“Hmm.” Eren closed his eyes and parted his lips as his arms slid over Levi’s shoulders. “Okay.”

“And that means time for you to get your ass kicked,” Levi breathed out right before he pulled away, his hands on Eren’s forearms so he could pull his lover along.

Eren’s eyes flew wide open and sparkled with anger as he pressed against Levi, body tense with the emotion and magic flaring as if he wanted to shift or cast a spell. “You – oh, you!” He bared sharp teeth as he shook his head. “Big friggen rhino today, gonna stomp your ass, just wait and see.”

“Watch you turn into one of those pygmy hippos or something.” Levi reached around to give him a pat on the ass. “I’ll have the revenants put a leash on you and walk you around.”

Eren covered his eyes as if he was imagining just that. “Whatever I did in a past life, it was really bad, wasn’t it? That’s why I’m paying for it so much in this one.”

“You haven’t seen true suffering until you’ve dealt with Hange and Erwin on a bender, so suck it.” Levi gave Eren one more smack and then pushed him away. “Now get naked.”

“You’re only saying that because you want to eviscerate me.” Eren was back to sulking as he yanked his borrowed sweater over his head. “I don’t think we have a very healthy relationship.”

“That’s because I’m making you wait until *after* the attempted evisceration to have sex.” Mindful of how cold it was outside, Levi snatched up the abandoned sweater and put it on over his long-sleeved t-shirt.

Pausing to consider the point, Eren shrugged and nodded after a moment. “Yeah, all right.” He had just started on removing his jeans when both of them froze, their magic flaring as they felt something cross the wards. “Ah, is Mike and Nanaba supposed to return?”

“No, just Moblit.” Levi scowled as he tried to make sense of what he had just felt and reached out to the sentry spirit he had posted along the driveway; through it he recognized Moblit’s car and it *looked* like Moblit inside of the light blue vehicle, but….

He could feel Eren stand beside him and reached out to touch his lover, more to assure himself that Eren was within arm’s reach and safe even as he felt along the wards he’d spent the last several days placing along Hange’s land and reinforcing. There was *something* of Moblit out there, but there was also something of death, and that just wasn’t right. Something was off, and he had to wonder if this was what had prompted Eren’s ‘itch’.

“Whatever I tell you to do, you do it, understand?” he ordered his lover as he strode toward the door.

“Eh?” Eren took one look at his face and then nodded. “What is it?”

“I’m not certain that’s Moblit out there,” Levi explained as they rushed for the front door – he cursed when he found the house empty of everyone except Erwin, who was still typing away. When his friend at first gave him and Eren a cursory glance and then pushed away from the desk in concern, Levi motioned for Erwin to follow. “Something’s not right.”

He raced out the open door to find Hange beaming at ‘Moblit’, who had stopped the car, with Mikasa and Armin right behind her. “It took you long enough! I was about to dock your non-existent pay!” she laughed as she headed toward the sedan.

“Hange, don’t!” Levi summoned several spirits to coalesce around the blood witch to prevent her from moving forward any further, while ‘Moblit’ exited the car with what appeared to be several bags in his left hand and a smile on his face. From this far away he *looked* exactly like Moblit that Levi began to doubt himself, except that he continued to smile at Hange and didn’t stammer out an excuse for being so late or chide her for being outside without a coat on or any of his usual anxious mannerisms from decades of dealing with a nutcase.

And then his light brown eyes looked past Hange as she squawked and batted at the ghosts whirling around her as if searching for something with an utter lack of concern on his face, looked past a confused Mikasa and Armin, a suspicious Levi and….

“That’s not Moblit,” Levi snarled as he shoved Eren behind him. “Erwin!”

“Ack! Levi, stop it, it’s Moblit! He got past the war-“ Hange stopped with the shrieking as ‘Moblit’ grinned, the expression possessing way too many teeth, and began to shift in front of their eyes, his clothes tearing apart as the familiar shape melted away. Meanwhile, Erwin snatched at Eren and surrounded them both with a circle of hellfire, which prompted Eren to yelp in surprise.

“How?” Hange stared in what appeared to be shock at the creature looming a few feet away while Mikasa and Armin cursed, Armin busy snatching up various potions and Mikasa casting out various threads. “The wards – Moblit?”

The shifter – fuck, but one of the bastards had tracked them down – put its huge hand on the one article that had survived through its metamorphosis, a cloth bag that hung tight around its neck; as Levi approached Hange’s side, he could pick up a ‘feel’ of Moblit emanate from the fabric and felt his rage spike even higher. “This fucker cannibalized Moblit’s blood and soul to get past the ward,” he spat out as he summoned forth the dead.

He saw Hange’s skin pale as the realization that Moblit had died for the charm to be made, and then her eyes flared a baleful red. Her lips pulled back as she bared her teeth, and a scream of pure rage and grief poured out as she hurled a spell at the shifter.

All the fucker did was ‘smile’, that or an approximation as it seemed the lower half of its face was mostly teeth, and the armored skin of its massive body glistened as a crystalline shell formed over it just in time to ward against Hange’s magic. “It was more than just the charm, you know, though that did help.” The shifter made to move forward, to move toward *Eren*, except for the undead that burst from the ground to wrap around its lower body.

The shifter snarled as it attempted to break free, its clawed hands slicing through the revenants latched on to it, and then Mikasa dashed forward with her threads in an attempt to bind it as well. All the while Hange seethed as she circled the shifter, eyes still aglow and face a mask of rage as she shook with a visible need to do something.

“That ward has to break at some point! We’ll batter it down!” She readied another spell when there was a cry from above, and Levi swore as he shoved her aside just as something swooped through the air while the wards ‘screamed’ about foreign magic.

Dammit, he’d picked up images of three shifters before, and now it looked as if the other two were joining the fray, breeching the ward thanks to that damn crystal protection that apparently wasn’t an attribute to being a key. Levi bit off a curse as he held his hand over the ground and summoned, and it only took a second of two for the buried revenants to pull the blades up from the earth and place them in his waiting palms. Now armed to fight something that was all but invisible to spells, Levi sneered at the figures who had shifted out of bird shape into something more humanoid and swung the blades in anticipation.

“Oi! Shitty glasses!” He waited until Hange turned toward him to toss her one of the weapons, then summoned another one from the ground; she gave him a grateful smile before charging after the original shifter with the blade held high as it broke free from the revenants.

“Come on,” Levi ordered Mikasa since he figured that Hange and Armin could deal with the armored shifter – right now the other two were closing in on Erwin and Eren, and he doubted the ring of hellfire would hold them off for long.

She hesitated only for a second, as if ready to try some more threads around the armored shifter, before she blinked at the blades in his hands and nodded. “Think those’ll work?”

“We’ll find out.” He motioned toward the gigantic, seemingly skinless shifter that was pacing around the hellfire circle while Mikasa’s eyes narrowed as she took in what appeared to be a female shifter.

Using the spirits to kick up dust and leaves, Levi blinded their opponents as the two of them rushed ahead and gained the advantage of surprise for the first few seconds; it was clear that the shifters had been trying to figure out where Eren was behind the wall of fire in order to grab him and pull him out. Levi came in hard and fast while swinging the blades as he spun about and lashed out in a downward motion, a fresh curse on the blades to help wear down on that shiny ward/armor. Despite its size, the shifter stumbled as it held its arms up as if to block the blows several seconds too late, its green eyes wide and mouth agape from surprise.

“Wah-what?”

“Get the fuck away from him,” Levi commanded as he followed up the slashes with a kick to the bastard’s solar plexus, added by a couple of spirits to gain enough air to aim that high. When the shifter attempted to hit back, he used the spirits as a shield and to ‘push’ it off-balance; maybe they couldn’t tear the fucker apart or do any lasting damage, but Levi had learned from fighting Eren that they could still act as a physical force against that shitty ward, which was wrapped around the shifter’s body.

“Nuh-no, he has to… come with us.” The shifter attempted to rush at Levi, only to be shoved off-balance by a gust of poltergeist force and then gasped as a charmed blade slashed across his throat. Was that a thin stream of steam there? Did Big & Clumsy here not have that good a grasp on his ward? Levi’s eyes narrowed as he swung his blades around again.

“He’s not going anywhere, and I’m going to use your body to fucking rip out the spines of your friends’ there once I slit your throat.” Levi called up a maelstrom of spirits to batter the shifter about in order to weaken the ward, and it looked as if Mikasa had figured out a similar tactic to use against her opponent. “I’ll fucking work your corpse like a bitch until it’s nothing but bones and shreds of skin.” Behind him he heard Erwin’s sharp tone, something about telling Eren to wait as he felt his lover’s magic flare about wildfire. “Stay the fuck in there!”

There might have been a furious ‘no!’ just then, but Levi had waved off the spirits so he could lunge forward with his blades at the ready at the unsteady shifter, and oh yeah, those were *definite* threads of steam rising from that disgusting body. Prepping the spell that always reverted Eren into a pouting and naked young man whining for his robe from whatever shape he’d been fighting in moments before, Levi slashed one blade low along the bastard’s stomach while the other came high along his upper chest. When the crystal began to break apart in earnest, he let loose the spell and had to jump back when more steam rolled off of the shifter.

“Reiner!”

Busy summoning a few of the remaining revenants to hold down the now weakened shifter, Levi was distracted and just barely caught the dark blur out of the corner of his left eye – he got his blades up in time and had enough spirits around him to help cushion the blow of one very irate, very strong and very big shifter charging at him. “The fuck?” Where were Hange and Armin?

As he attempted to get his thoughts in order so he could call for some more undead to pry this fucker off of him, something else rushed forward, this time to knock into the armored shifter attempting to pound him into the ground. Unfortunately, that something was his lover, magic flaring like a supernova and golden eyes just as bright, face one out of nightmares since it was composed of little more than jagged fangs and twin suns for eyes. Eren let out an inhuman shriek as he tore his claws along the other shifter’s face, and Levi swore he saw a wake of steam in their wake.

Coughing as he struggled to catch his breath from the blow, Levi could do little but stand there for a couple of seconds and watch the fight, especially since the other shifter had used the distraction to vanish. Erwin came over to his side and shook his head. “I’m sorry, I had him under control until you were in danger.”

Levi clicked his tongue but didn’t have anything to say to that, not even a ‘you suck’ or ‘fuck off’. “Come on,” was what he settled on as they rejoined the fray; Mikasa and now Hange were taking on the female shifter, while a bruised Armin appeared to be busy mixing up potions. Meanwhile, Eren was trying his best to rip out the armored shifter’s throat and doing a decent job of it.

“We’re not your enemy,” the armored shifter shouted as it attempted to get some sort of hold around Eren. “We’re your own kind!”

“Yeah, who murder and chop up your friends,” Hange reminded Eren as she did her best to chop up the female shifter in return, the blade bouncing off that damn crystal ward; it looked as if that shifter had a much better grasp of warding itself than Levi’s opponent. “Don’t believe a single word of that bullshit!”

“They’re just using you! Come with us, we’ll protect you.”

Eren appeared deaf to it all, which was good because Levi was getting sick enough for the both of them, listening to this shit. “He doesn’t need you,” he spat out as he charged at the bastard, blades held ready and spirits loosely around him so he could command them about with a simple thought. As soon as Eren fell back from what looked to be a vicious kick to his chin, Levi made his move – and dodged what felt to be a nasty as fuck spell mostly because of that loose shield of spirits, the magic similar to Eren’s but with a difference that made his skin crawl.

“Shit.” Eren knew spells, he should have expected that, he told himself as he hit the ground hard, agony shooting up from his left ankle as it buckled when his weight came down on it wrong. Using one of the blades for support, he managed to stay mostly upright and did his best to spin around to face the shifter – just in time to hear another of Eren’s inhuman screams and feel the rush of his lover’s magic unleashed.

If it had been a surprise to see those green tendrils burst to life the other day when Mikasa and Armin had shown up, it was nothing at all like now when the mostly dormant yard seethed with them, the magical growth lashing back and forth but managing to avoid Levi and his friends as it attacked the two remaining shifters. At first they stared in shock at the tendrils, until the greenery struck their giant bodies and caused the crystal wards to steam away.

“Shit!” The armored giant flinched and did something to attack the tendrils, which caused Eren to produce a low keening sound as he fell to his knees. Over by Mikasa, the female shifter used Mikasa’s distraction to knock her aside and then leapt in Eren’s direction, managing to land just a few feet away – which made Levi swore and reached for any remaining revenants near his lover in a vain hope of providing a shield, at least until a blast of hellfire poured out to block the bitch before she could get her hands on Eren. A baleful glare was sent in Erwin’s direction, but between more hellfire, another maelstrom of spirits and a flurry of tendrils, the shifters decided to leave before their crystal wards vanished completely; Levi thought he saw one fly away, but the other ran off at a surprising speed and vanished in the woods. Maybe that was what had happened to the third one.

“Eren!” Mikasa made to run to her brother, but Erwin caught her by the arm.

“Help Hange secure the perimeter! You two go in that direction, Armin and I will go over here.” As Erwin rushed about in the southern direction of the house, he looked back at Levi. “Can you do something about those things?” he asked as he waved at the still lashing tendrils. “I don’t think it’s wise to get rid of them just yet.”

Levi clicked his tongue as he damn near crawled over to Eren, who was still in his ‘fighting’ form though huddled on the ground. “Like I have a fucking clue.” When Mikasa hesitated in following Hange to the edge of the yard, he waved the girl off. “Go, I’ll take care of him.”

She didn’t appear too happy just then, but she nodded as she finally went to assist with the wards, while off in the distance Erwin could be heard shouting something about compounding to Armin. Levi ignored them as he half-hobbled, half-crawled past the tendrils, which parted for him as he all but fell down next to Eren. His lover felt almost burning to the touch and his magic fluctuated about just as wildly as the tendrils, so Levi winced as he squirmed into a better position next to his lover and stroked his fingers through the dark, damp and matted hair. “Come on, brat, bet I’m ‘choppy’ as shit right now. Wake the fuck up so we can go inside.”

At first there was no reaction, and then Eren’s body twitched before the crystal armor began to crack and melt away. Levi cursed as he fell back on his ass to avoid the heat, which did no favors to his already sore ankle, and watched as Eren shifted back to his own form; his golden skin ashen and body limp as he collapsed onto the ground.

“Oi! You passing out?” Levi lurched onto his knees so he could grab onto the brat and haul him somewhat upright, which caused Eren’s eyes to flutter open. “You were kicking ass a few minutes ago.”

Eren shivered against him and moaned, the sound weak and pained. “Head hurts.”

“Yeah, well, you turned the whole damn yard into a pervert’s wet dream, I would hope so.” When Eren was more or less settled against him, Levi struggled to pull off his sweater so Eren could have some protection from the cold. “Can you do something to calm them down?”

When Eren’s answer was along the line of a choked laugh, he sighed and had the fun of struggling to put the damn thing *on* his lover, not bothering to get Eren’s limp arms through the holes. “Little shit,” he muttered as he managed to scoot them a little closer to one of the ‘branches’ of tendrils.

“’Kasa ‘n Armin?”

“They’re fine, just helping with the wards right now,” Levi explained as he eyed the waving greenery. “So, no clue what you did this time either, I bet.”

Eren’s head lolled back against Levi’s shoulder. “Fulla magic. Watchit.”

Which meant that Eren was probably suffering more from magical backlash than anything right now, which probably was impressive as all hell considering the amount of spells flying around during the fight. Levi gritted his teeth as he tried to figure out how to go about this, only to huff when Eren hummed a little. “Make ‘em sleep.”

“Just because *you* want to… well, that might not be too bad.” Levi tugged on a lock of Eren’s hair since flicking was out at the moment, then cleared his mind as he concentrated on what needed to be done. When he had a concrete picture in his head of how he would calm down vengeful spirits, he then reached out to the greenery and hoped that this would work.

As soon as he touched the tendrils, he had to grit his teeth and work past the electrifying jolt of magic that washed into him; it was along the lines of the rush he received when someone died that he could *just* move past it. Focusing on what he wanted, he willed the tendrils to calm down, to ignore the magic that Erwin, Hange and the others were casting, to allow the new wards to click into pace yet remain on guard for anything that wasn’t any of the magic flowing about right now. To his surprise, the tendrils slowed their thrashing and appeared to retreat back into the earth until only a portion of them remained above ground.

Letting out a sigh, he sat there on the ground and focused on the magic the ‘plants’ had given him, and willed his body to absorb it. It wasn’t entirely like the energizing burst he got upon a person’s death, but it did help restore some of his depleted strength and calm down the pain he felt in his left ankle; when he tried twisting his foot, he had more mobility than before and concluded that it was at least partially healed.

Still, partially healed wasn’t good enough, and even with the fucking weeds as a defense system, Hange’s house was compromised and they couldn’t stay here for much longer. Levi allowed himself a few more seconds to rest up before he shuffled Eren about in his arms. “Come on, we’re going inside.”

Jerking about as if startled awake, Eren made a slight noise and kicked his long legs a little as Levi lifted him up and over Levi’s shoulder. “Wah?”

“If you want me to carry you like a fucking princess, not happening.” Levi was having a hard enough time as it was thanks to his ankle. “Unless you want to shift into a cat or something light for me?”

“…gonna throw up?”

“You do and I’ll cobble together a revenant to carry you inside,” Levi warned as he tugged the sweater down over Eren’s ass. “Just suck it up for another minute or two.”

“But-“

“What are you doing?” Mikasa nearly made Levi fall over when she yanked at Eren with her threads. “Give him to me!”

“Fine, he was getting heavy.” Levi rolled his eyes at how the girl managed to carry her pale and sweaty brother cradled in her arms – yeah, that wasn’t emasculating for the brat – while glaring at him. “Are the wards done already?”

Mikasa flushed a little as they stumbled onto the small porch. “I helped strengthen them, but Hange’s consulting with Armin and Erwin right now about some special tricks.”

It would have to be something impressive to keep those shifters out – at the least, maybe they could work out an advance warning. “Well, they better not take too long – we can’t waste too much time before we figure out what’s our next move.” Levi hobbled toward the bedroom with Mikasa at his heels. “Get some rest, gather our supplies and hit the ground running.”

“First we need to look after Eren, and what about you?” Mikasa nearly shouldered him aside so she could put Eren down on the bed; Levi grimaced at the thought of how the sheets were going to get all fucked up, until he realized that they weren’t going to be staying that much longer so to hell with it. “I don’t think they hurt him at all – his ward stayed up the entire time, right?”

“Yeah, it didn’t break down until after they left. For all his whining, the practice sessions really paid off.” Levi was grateful to get his weight off of his busted ankle and sink down on the bed next to his now unconscious lover. “Hey, grab a pair of boxers for him, they’re in the top drawer,” he ordered Mikasa since he didn’t feel like standing up again.

There was a slight flush of pink to her pale cheeks as she went over to the dresser, and he noticed what looked to be a forming bruise on her face. “You get smacked around a bit?” he asked when she handed him the underwear.

“A little – it took a minute or two to figure out how to use the spirits like you did and while I could weave my threads into a decent shield, that shifter was fast and strong.” Her eyes flashed silver for a moment, and then she looked aside when Levi began to slide the boxers along Eren’s long legs. “She knew how to fight.”

If it was a woman, but Levi recalled seeing a female shape from the dead’s memories so maybe that wasn’t just an assumed shape to throw off people. “The armored shifter wasn’t half-bad at it either, though the skinless freak seemed to rely more upon strength than anything. Think that one will be their weak link.” He’d be better prepared next time for one of the others to come to Skinless’ rescue.

Now that Eren was more or less decent, Mikasa bent over to brush at the tangled mess that fell onto her brother’s face. “I don’t like how they were trying to talk Eren into going with them.”

“You caught that, huh?” Levi ran his hands beneath the sweater just to check that Eren hadn’t been injured in some way and was comforted to feel warm, smooth skin and solid bone beneath his fingers. “Only seemed to piss him off even more, though.”

Mikasa’s lips twitched as she straightened up. “I love him, but he’s not the best at doing what he’s told. Sometimes that’s a good thing.”

Despite the lingering aches and pains, the fact that he’d lost a friend and that they were now facing three powerful enemies, Levi had to snort in amusement as he tugged the sweater down and smoothed his hand along his lover’s back. “Yeah, for once him being a stubborn brat works for us.” He could feel Eren’s magic against his skin, a much more sedate pulse now that the fighting was over and Eren unconscious yet still strong enough to send tingles up his arm.

“You should have Armin check out that ankle of yours, one of his potions might speed up the healing.”

Levi glanced up to find Mikasa over by the door and grunted. She gave him a half smile before tugging up that red scarf of hers and leaving, making sure to close the door behind her. Once she was gone, Levi shifted Eren about so he could slide his lover beneath the covers. Part of him wanted to curl up next to Eren and sleep for a while, to ignore the mess he knew was coming their way, but all he did was tuck the covers around Eren and allow himself to rest against the brat for a few peaceful minutes, to soak in the feel of their magic blending together and assure himself that at least here was one person who was… well, mostly all right, who would be safe with Levi outside that door.

After a couple of minutes, Eren made a low moaning noise and curled up, a frown forming on his face and a jerking motion beneath the blankets as if he was trying to reach for something but couldn’t. Levi remembered about just shoving the sweater on and chuckled. “If you’re trying to do your octopus impression, you’re out of luck.” He leaned over a little more so he could brush his lips along Eren’s forehead before he forced himself off of the bed. “Get some rest.”

Eren settled once he was alone on the bed, while Levi winced once he was upright and putting weight back on his left leg. Yeah, something had been strained all right, but at least he could bear weight on it, which was better than it had been before he’d gotten a boost of magic. Hopefully with a potion or two he’d be back to near-fighting condition because he had a feeling that they’d have a very short reprieve before the shifters would be back.

*******

Wishing that he’d grabbed a coat before running outside to see what was going on, Armin shivered as he helped Erwin and Hange with the wards – at least until Erwin called up some hellfire. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Erwin sent several balls of the blue fire floating about in the air, which helped still the shaking in Armin’s hands as he mixed together a new potion. “You think this will help with the wards?”

“I caught a wisp of steam from one of the shifters when their armor was breaking down, and while it’s not enough to make a potion that’ll render their armor useless like I’d hope, it should at least sensitize the wards here to them if they try to break through. We’ll need to have Eren shift for us later to get enough to do that at our… well, next place.” He glanced aside at Hange, not sure how well she was taking the fact that she had to leave her home.

“Anything to help prevent them from breeching the ward again.” Her face twisted with rage as she finished shaking a few drops of blood from a cut on her left thumb into the ground. “That bastard must have been partially warding his body with the crystal armor to help assist that glamour bag he put together with Moblit’s….” She paused to shake her head, her lips pressed tight together. “If it wasn’t for Levi, he could have gotten close enough to take us out and grab Eren. He won’t get that chance again.”

“No, we need to make sure they won’t go after the rest of our friends or comrades like that,” Erwin agreed, his eyes flashing a brilliant blue for a moment. “Dammit, I should have realized something when Nile warned me that people were tracking down Levi like that.”

Hange’s eyes flared a flame red as she cast some sort of spell, the drops of blood sizzling for a few seconds before vanishing in a puff of smoke; Armin was impressed by the ominous sense of magic that poured off of the blood witch just then. “And I should have worried when Moblit took so long to get back here, but sometimes he gets sidetracked and we’re used to people hunting down Levi. We’re not omnipotent,” she insisted, her voice harsh and expression haggard. “Doesn’t mean I’m not going to find those bastards and enjoy boiling their blood and turning their organs to stone. And that’s after reenacting a history of plagues on them.”

Armin chuckled as he finished with his potion, more than a little nervous in the face of such blatant hatred; yeah, he wasn’t happy with anyone who sought to use Eren, but he wasn’t one for torture. Or at least, he didn’t think so at this point in his life. “I wouldn’t want to be them right now, or the necromancer who helped them.”

Hange accepted the potion from him and sprinkled it over the ground with a rather disturbing smile on her face, while Erwin nodded and pulled out his phone to begin typing away on it. “Yes, yes, can’t forget about that necromancer, good thinking.” She looked over at Erwin. “Any idea who might that be?”

“Not at the moment, but as Levi could tell you, there aren’t too many candidates out there – I was already trying to narrow it down when we found the bodies the other day, but someone who can use part of a soul like that in a glamour bag? That narrows it down even more. I’m informing my contacts now.”

“Good. Because I’m looking forward to meeting that person.” Hange smiled at Erwin, if one could properly call the expression that; Armin shivered a little at the show of teeth and gleam of extreme and sadism hatred in the blood witch’s brown eyes just then. “Maybe we can exchange a few notes on magic, stuff like that.”

“Just leave them alive long enough for us to get some answers out of them,” Erwin admonished as he continued to type.

“Oh, I promise, they’ll be in a very talkative mood – might be a bit loud, but they’ll talk.” Hange’s eyes flashed red again and then she handed the empty vial back to Armin. “Okay, that’s the western side down, let’s finish the northern and we can go inside.”

“Yes, there’s lots to be done and not much time.” Erwin tucked his phone away inside a pocket and directed them across the yard.

Armin checked the contents of his bag and frowned. “Wherever we’re going, I hope it has some supplies.”

“We have a few safe houses scattered about that are stocked in cases of emergency, but I’m thinking it might be time to bring in some help.” Erwin brushed at a lock of hair that had fallen onto his forehead, for a moment an expression of dread on his face. “I just hope that I won’t regret it.”

That it wouldn’t lead to more deaths. Armin hoped that it wouldn’t come to that as well, for the enemies earlier had been powerful. They would have to figure out what those shifters really were and why they wanted Eren if they had any hope of keeping Eren safe and finding a way to defeat them – and to do that, they needed time and information. Armin hoped that they could stay ahead of the enemy long enough to get what they needed.

*******

Eren struggled to push past the throbbing headache and queasy stomach as he lay on his right side on top of the bed. There was a bit of light in the room that filtered in from the closed curtains, so it still had to be day, which meant he hadn’t been out of it that long. Placing his hands against the mattress, he attempted to sit up… only to find himself unable to push his body very far from the bed.

A loud squawking noise escaped as he fell back onto the bed, more or less face first, then the bedroom door opened and there were the sounds of footsteps and the feel of familiar magic – Levi’s foremost and a tingle of Mikasa’s.

“Brat… what are you doing?” There was a shuffle to Levi’s steps and more than a little annoyance to his deep voice and emotions, as well as relief. Eren found himself lifted up with ease, and it was then that he realized that his arms were trapped inside of the warm, soft sweater that he was wearing.

“Uhm, wakin’ up?” He did a slow blink as he stared up at Levi, who appeared exhausted with the darker than normal circles beneath his grey eyes and mouth drawn in a grim line. “What’s going on?”

“We’re having a fucking party, what do you think?” Levi’s right hand hovered around Eren’s forehead as if to flick him, before Levi sighed and tousled Eren’s hair instead. “If you’re up, come join us.” He helped Eren slip his arms into the sleeves of the sweater before leaving the bed to fetch a pair of jeans; Eren noticed that someone, probably his boyfriend, had put some boxers on him while he was sleeping.

Mikasa came over while Levi grabbed more clothing and offered him a tender smile while feeling his forehead. “You look a little better, how’s the head?”

“Still a bit sore.” Eren was grateful to see that she appeared all right, albeit sporting a bruise along the left side of her jaw. He thought he remembered her carrying him inside so she must have come through the fight in good shape. “How’s Armin?”

“In his glory, whipping up potions left and right.”

“Figures.” He managed a weak grin before Levi dropped the jeans in his lap. “And the others?”

Levi had to help him with his balance as he put on the pants; even with the additional magic in his system, he felt… felt ‘off-kilter’ because of the shock to his body from all of it pouring into him. Dammit, there had to be some better way of filtering it from the plants.

“Well, other than the fact that Moblit’s dead, Hange is fine.” There was a sharp bite to Levi’s words just then, a verbal sign of the dark emotions roiling inside of him. “Sure she’ll bounce back in a day or two.”

There was a stab of pain, guilt and fury inside of Eren at the words and he attempted to pull away from his lover, only for Levi’s fingers to dig into his arms. “I’m sorry – I knew I should have left days ago.”

“*Bullshit*” Levi’s grip on Eren was painful enough to wring a small cry from him, and the next thing Eren knew was that he ended up shoved onto the bed and would have sprawled out on his back if not for the hold on his arms; Mikasa rushed forward as if to help but a glimmering wall of spirits blocked her path. “Listen to me,” Levi all but spat out, his eyes glowing silver and face set in evident foul temper. “*You* didn’t kill Moblit, you little shit. His blood is on the hands of those three fuckers out there and them alone, unless they’re working with someone else. You didn’t ask for any of this shit. You didn’t set out to be a damn key or invite a bunch of power hungry assholes to chase you down. *They* are the ones who decided to kill an innocent guy for whatever fucked up reasons and *they* are the ones who are going to pay for it – say another damn word otherwise and I will kick you so hard you’ll shit out of your mouth for a month, understood?” He glared at Eren as if daring him to argue.

Eren stared up at his lover while that mixture of fury and guilt continued to thear through him and shook his head when he felt tears prick at his eyes. “I just… I just want it to end,” he admitted. “I don’t want anyone else to die because of me, and I want to fucking *tear those bastards apart*.” He closed his eyes and forced himself to take a deep breath, and started when he felt a gentle touch to his hair – he hadn’t even realized when Levi had let go of his arms.

“You and me both,” his lover admitted. “Though we may have to race Hange to get to them at the moment.”

There was another light touch to his left shoulder, and Eren realized that Levi must have dropped the wall of spirits as well. “I’m not going to stand by idly, either.”

“Didn’t think you would,” Eren told his sister as he opened his eyes to look up at her. Then something occurred to him. “Uhm, yeah, about those three – I’m not imaging things, right? They were the other shifters.”

Levi’s face wore the usual impassive mask as he stepped back and urged Eren to stand up, which he did on somewhat unsteady feet. “As far as we can tell, yeah, they were.” There was something ‘off’ about Levi’s emotions, but Eren’s head still hurt too much to figure out what just then.

“So I’m really not the only one? Why do they want me so much?” This whole thing didn’t make any sense, and he hated how he could become so lost in his rage when he fought some times, which he’d sorta… yeah, seeing Levi attacked like that had done it.

“Are you forgetting the whole ‘key’ thing?” Levi clicked his tongue as he wrapped his arm around Eren’s waist and directed him toward the door. “Your brains have definitely been scrambled too much lately.”

“Funny how much that’s happened since I met you,” Eren complained as they left the room. “And wait – aren’t you the one limping?”

“Just shut it and get out here,” Levi grumbled, his temper flaring enough that Eren decided to save his concern and be quiet. Still, when they got to the living room and when Levi made to dump him off at the couch, he yanked his boyfriend down with him and was happy to curl up next to him, where he could feel Levi’s magic soak in.

“Hmm.”

“Some days I swear you’re half cat.” Levi sounded rather put upon, but still moved his left arm so Eren could press even closer against him.

Armin, who had just returned from the kitchen with a tray full of warm beverages, sighed as he shook his head. “If you’re going to talk about cat boy costumes and dress up, I’m leaving.”

“Don’t need the fake cat ears, I can grow them myself,” Eren mumbled, and smiled both at the spark of interest from his lover and the even heavier sigh from his friend – at least until Mikasa settled on the other side of the couch and gave him a stern look. “All right,” he muttered. So much for a bit of fun. Though some of his good mood was restored when Mikasa handed him a mug of hot chocolate.

Levi accepted his own mug with a slight grimace, as if he wasn’t a fan of such a sweet drink. “Erwin’s not back yet?”

“He still has twenty minutes,” Armin glanced at the watch on his left wrist, an inheritance from his grandfather, and shook his head. “I’m not worried just yet.” At Eren’s curious stare, he offered a reassuring smile. “We need another vehicle – we didn’t trust Moblit’s car in case there’s a tracker in there somewhere, and Hange has some books she won’t leave behind.”

“You slept through Erwin torching the thing.” Levi drank some of the hot chocolate and judging from his emotions, yeah, it was a bit too sweet for him. However, it did help a little with Eren’s headache so he continued to sip at his drink. “Hange’s boxing up stuff as we speak.” Levi’s emotions spiked with concern as he glanced at the other bedroom. “Erwin said to give him an hour, and if he doesn’t show up within that time, expect the worst. We really need to be out of here within another hour or so, before the sun goes down.”

Even as delicious as the hot chocolate tasted, Eren felt his stomach twist with nausea – and then Levi’s fingers combed through his hair. “Remember what I said, brat.”

“I know… it just feels like all I ever do is bring about destruction and grief,” he admitted as he leaned against Levi and allowed his lover’s magic to wrap around him; he almost dropped the mug if it weren’t for Mikasa.

“You’re looking a bit pale there, which isn’t good for you.” Armin came around the coffee table and sat down on it, his leather bag held between his hands. “You still having an issue with the magical backlash from earlier?”

“Yeah.” Eren rubbed at the back of his neck as if he could ease the pain in his head. “It’s… I’m used to healing, so it’s odd, feeling like this. If it would just go away, I’d be fine.” He had more than enough energy to fight now or to cast a spell, it was just the pain and nausea stole away his focus.

Armin’s fingers brushed against his face, a gentle pressure that left a warm feeling in their wake. “Mikasa, hand me his mug, please.” Once it was in his hands, Armin set it on his lap and then searched through his bag for two vials, the smell from which made Eren gag when they were opened. Humming a little to himself as he poured them into the mug, Armin swirled the contents around for several seconds and then handed it to Levi. “Make him drink this.”

“Armin… is this some sort of revenge?” Eren whined as he did his best to breathe through his nose.

“Nope, though I have to admit, I am enjoying this just a little.” Armin gave him a big grin before he nodded to Levi. “All of it.”

“You heard him,” Levi chided as he wrapped his left arm around Eren’s upper chest to hold him in place. “I’m sure this is good for you.”

“You’re *sure*?” Eren was about to clamp his lips shut when his collarbone was given a vicious pinch, which made him open his mouth to complain – of course the bastard used that as an opportunity to shove the mug against his lips. Figuring he might as well get this over with since he not only had Levi glaring at him but Mikasa as well, he did his best not to breathe at all and just swallow as quickly as possible. Nope, he could still taste it, and the chocolate did NOTHING to help with the awfulness.

At least after a few swallows it was all done, though Levi kept hold of him as if sensing that Eren was about to jump up and go scrub his poor tongue if given a chance; he even handed Eren his own mug to help wash down the nasty concoction. “Still hate you,” Eren murmured between gulps.

“Yeah, yeah.” Levi stroked two fingertips with a light touch along Eren’s neck, which almost made him choke on the hot chocolate. “Show me how much later on.”

“Uhm, please don’t do that in front of me, okay? It’s weird seeing what basically amounts to your adopted brother get it on with someone else.”

Eren made a face at Armin as he finished off the last of the hot chocolate. “I don’t care right now, that stuff was even nastier than usual.”

“Hmm, but does your head feel better?” Armin smiled at Eren, his blue eyes bright with mirth, while Eren closed his mouth and considered the question; despite how awful it had tasted, his stomach had settled down and the pain in his head was only a dull ache. “That a ‘yes’?”

“Don’t think I’m going to throw up any time soon and yeah, it’s not completely gone but my head is a lot better.” He rested back against Levi with a sigh of relief.

“Your head is never ‘better’,” Levi teased, but he followed that up with a light flick to Eren’s ear. Meanwhile, Mikasa picked up a full mug of chocolate and urged Eren to drink that as well; he needed to eat something solid at some point, but the sugar did help after all that shifting and fighting despite the buzz of borrowed magic in his body.

Armin laughed as he got up from the coffee table. “I won’t argue about Eren’s head, but at least I have an idea now of a potion that might help in the future to prevent that magical backlash.” He smiled at Mikasa and began to collect the empty mugs. “I talked to Mikasa a little about the Ackerman trait of absorbing energy, which seemed to help you a little, Levi, when you got some secondhand magic through Eren’s spell. I’m trying to create the alchemic equivalent for Eren – it’s clear that he’s absorbing the magic, but his body doesn’t know yet how to handle it. I think maybe because he already has such an impressive healing factor, it sort of causes a feedback loop that I need to defuse or pacify in some way.”

“You’ll figure out it,” Mikasa assured him. “You always do.”

“Yeah, just… try to add some mint extract or something to it,” Eren complained as he scraped at his tongue with his teeth.

“And now Erwin should have about ten more minutes.” Levi scowled at the front door for a few seconds before he turned his attention toward the main bedroom. “Oi! Shitty glasses! You buried beneath a pile of books in there?”

At first there wasn’t an answer, and then it sounded as if several heavy objects hit the floor in rapid succession before the bedroom door opened. “Should have pointed out the attic space to you during one of your visits,” Hange joked as she wiped at the cobwebs covering the front of her formerly light grey sweatshirt. “Bet it would be all spic and span right now.” She took off her glasses to help remove the dust smeared across them and glanced around. “Erwin not back yet?”

“Ten more minutes,” Levi informed her as he jerked his head toward the remaining mug of hot chocolate.

“Ah, okay.” She picked it up and took a sip. “Nice to see you up and awake, Eren.” The smile she gave him appeared genuine, so Eren summoned one in return for her. “Wouldn’t happen to want to give me any blood, huh? That was some impressive magic back there.”

“Ah, maybe-“

“Not now.” Levi’s deep voice cut him off and made Hange shrug. “We’ve got enough going on without you messing around.”

“Eh, it was worth a shot. Are the others getting here soon or did the two of you decide that they’ll meet up with us,” Hange waved her left hand around in the air, which caused dust to fly off of the filthy sweatshirt, “wherever?”

“It’ll take them too long to get here so they’ll reach us at the cabin,” Levi explained while Eren twisted around to look at his lover. “So just focus on getting your shit together as fast as you can.”

“Almost done, now just to have something to pack it in.” Hange’s brown eyes glinted behind her glasses as she chugged down the hot beverage. “Okay, back to work.”

“I can help out some, now that Eren’s up,” Armin offered.

“Great! I could use an extra set of hands!” Hange smiled at first, and then something seemed to snatch away her good mood. “Yeah, ah, some help would be great.”

She was probably thinking about Moblit, Eren told himself as he continued to look at Levi, who didn’t answer until Hange left the room. “I’ve a few people who I work with from time to time when Erwin needs stuff done – well, needs stuff done without the aid of a crazy person.” Levi nodded in the direction of Hange’s room. “I called them while you were sleeping and they’ll meet up with us when we get to the safe house.”

Eren wanted to ask if they knew the danger they were placing themselves in for his sake and how long it would take until they were tracked down at the next location, but the watchful look in Levi’s eyes and the sense of annoyed anticipation over the link warned him that he might just get his ass kicked if he did. So instead he bit his tongue and nodded along.

It didn’t seem as if Levi bought his conviction, but fortunately, it was around then that Erwin decided to return; there was a loud rattling sound while Eren felt a tingle of the mage’s magic as the ward was breeched.

Hange came running out of her bedroom with a stack of books in her arms. “Nice to see the new wards are working, right?” Despite the smile on her face, there was a suspicious gleam in her eyes as she set the books on the table and reached for the long sword that was leaning near the door before she opened it. Eren watched all of that in surprise before Levi urged him aside and got up to join the blood witch, a slight hitch in his step as he favored his left ankle.

“It is Erwin, right?” Eren asked as he got up to follow his lover. “And how bad were you hurt?”

“We’re pretty sure it’s him, I’m not picking up any sense of death like I did when that asshole pretended to be Moblit but we’re not taking any chances.” Still, Levi dragged Eren in close as if wanting to keep an eye on him. “And the ankle’s just a little sore. Give it a day or a death and it’ll be fine.”

Yeah, but did they have that day, and what if Levi didn’t get that death in time? Hadn’t he told Eren that people who knew they were facing a necromancer did their best to ‘level the playing field’ against them? Eren latched onto his lover’s hand and worried at his bottom lip as they headed to the driveway, Levi limping the entire time, while he still had the excess energy inside of him from fighting the shifters. Excess energy that wasn’t doing him any good right now, that just burned inside of him and gave him a headache while Levi looked tired and was hurt and-

It felt… it felt as if something was between them, some sort of ephemeral connection, something other than the empathic link, and the lingering headache vanished along with the excess energy from Eren while Levi’s finger dug into Eren’s hand and he felt a wave of shock and… well, it was a confusing jumble of emotion just then, when Eren was a little lightheaded to be honest. “Ooohh.” He rocked back on his heels as he shook his head, and beside him Levi swore something about little shits.

“Eren? Are you all right?” Mikasa nearly ran into him since he had stopped so suddenly. “You look out of it, is it some sort of spell?”

“I don’t-“ he yelped when Levi yanked him forward. “What?”

“That’s what I want to know!” Levi’s eyes flared silver as he wrapped his arms around Eren. “How did you do that?”

“Uhm, what? Ooh, your magic feels really good.” It helped with the sudden dizziness just then, so Eren sighed and closed his eyes.

“Okay, yeah, possible shifter attack and you two are all lovey-dovey. What do you think, ‘Erwin’?” Hange sounded unusually pissed off just then.

“Well, normally you’d be taking pictures of them at the moment, but if you’re that upset, give me back the money I lost on the bet about Levi.”

“… dammit, it’s you. I was really hoping to kill a shifter right about now,” Hange grumbled.

“Thanks, I think.” There were sounds of people approaching and someone, probably Erwin since it was deep, clearing their throat so Eren sighed and opened his eyes. “What’s going on here?” The mage held several shopping bags in his hands and gave Levi a worried look.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. We were walking along and then…” Levi’s left hand lifted from Eren’s back to flick through the air. “The brat zaps me with magic and my ankle’s suddenly fine.”

“Is it?” Eren made to pull back enough to look down at the foot and wavered. “Oooh, head rush.” Both Levi and Mikasa clutched at him to keep him on his feet.

For the first time since he’d been awake, Hange showed some true excitement. “Wait, so he absorbs magic from others, and he can transfer it to someone else? Oh honey, you really have to give me some blood now!” At Levi’s ferocious scowl, she made a rude noise and flapped her hands about. “Or later, give it to me once we reach the cabin.”

Meanwhile, Armin reached over to check Eren’s eyes, which made him groan and want to pull away in case things led to another lousy potion being dumped down his throat. “I’m beginning to wonder about this ‘key’ thing – Eren always could pull some energy from the environment, but if he can gain control over syphoning others’ magic and process it better, not to mention pass it on to other people….” Armin glanced over at Erwin, who was staring intently at Levi. “That is an amazing ability to possess.”

“Yes, for both Eren and for whoever Eren hands over that refined power. Something tells me we’re only scratching the surface of it right now.” As Erwin spoke, Levi’s arm tightened around Eren and pulled him in closer while Mikasa shifted about as if to bloke Eren from view; he felt sandwiched between the two of them and their magic. “It would explain why people are so desperate to get a hold on him.”

“How the fuck do they know this shit if we’re stumbling around in the dark about it?” Levi’s left hand settled on the nape of Eren’s neck and made him shiver.

“And what makes them think they can just take him and force his ability?” Mikasa demanded to know. “Especially if it can make him so powerful?”

“It might be why they’ve been trying so hard to catch him now, while he’s still young – or before he crossed paths with someone like Levi.” The bags in Erwin’s hands rustled as he shifted about on either foot. “Look, as much as I want to know more about what just happened, we don’t have much time. I’m glad your leg is healed, Levi, now let’s get everything loaded up and be on the road as soon as possible. We’ll talk more about this once we reach the cabin.”

“Yes, and both of you will give me some blood!” When Levi groaned at that, Hange made a clucking sound. “No, no! I need to see if anything has changed! There’s obviously some sort of connection between the two of you, now to see how deep it goes.”

“You just love stabbing people,” Levi grumbled as he rubbed at Eren’s neck. “You okay now?” he asked Eren as he loosened his hold a little.

“Uhm, feels like I lost a pint or two of blood, but yeah.” Eren wobbled a little as he stepped back but quickly regained his balance. “Didn’t think I sent over that much.”

Armin was quick to hold out an arm for support. “We definitely have to figure out a lesson plan for this new talent, but until then, I think you need some food and a little more sugar in you.”

Mikasa immediately flanked him on the other side while Levi blinked in surprise. “Yes, definitely something to eat. We made sandwiches earlier to take on the road, so you can have a couple while we start packing up.”

Eren glanced back at Levi but his lover just rolled his eyes and waved him off. “Go eat while we start loading up the cars – it’ll be easier without you in the way.”

“Gee, thanks.” Still, Eren could feel his lover’s concern so he allowed his sister and best friend to lead him back to the house.

*******

Annie pulled over about a mile from the farmhouse where Hitch waited for them and put the SUV into neutral before she turned around to look at Reiner and Bertolt sprawled out in the back seat. “All right, let’s do this here, where she won’t hear us.”

Reiner wiped at his face with his left hand, his right arm draped over Bert and his appearance haggard. “That… it wasn’t supposed to go down like that.” Both of them had thrown on the bare minimum of clothes once they had gotten back to the car and were huddled together under a blanket.

“No kidding.” Even Annie winced at the amount of acid in her voice and struggled to contain the anger, disappointment and fear she felt before she spoke again. “We expected Ackerman and the blood witch to be there, but not everyone else. We shouldn’t have made such assumptions.”

“Because all the research we’ve done pointed to Ackerman being a loner.” Reiner made a low growl of frustration as he smacked his fist into the back of the passenger side chair. “Dammit, Eren was there! We were so close!”

“And so was Erwin Smith, one of the highest ranked mages alive, and from what I can tell, Eren’s adopted sister and his friend, who aren’t supposed to be anywhere near him – and I’d like to know when his sister picked up the talent for necromancy.” Annie shared Reiner’s frustration, especially when he was right – they *had* been so close. For the past year they’d been searching down every lead they could find on Eren, had been sent from home because it was decided they were the best suited for the mission and all she wanted… all she wanted…. She sighed as she scrubbed at the back of her head. "They’ll be harder to trick, now.”

Bert stirred from beneath the blanket and glanced back and forth between the two of them. “Are we going to talk about Eren and what he did?”

“Why not? Can’t make this day any worse,” Annie muttered as she tugged the hood of her sweatshirt over her head.

“He’s tapping into his power – we were trying to get to him before that.”

“I know.” Annie closed her eyes as she remembered the draining sensation of those tendrils brushing against her, the awful fear as her ward began to crack and steam away at their touch. “It doesn’t look as if he has too much control over it yet, though.”

“It’s still bad,” Reiner insisted as he hugged Bert against him. “*He’s* not going to be happy about it.”

“*He’s* not here, is he?” Annie glared at Reiner until he looked aside, even though she knew he had a point. “We did everything we could to reach Eren as quickly as possible.” Some days it was as if she could never wash away the blood on her hands. “We know who has him now, we’ll run them into the ground and take him, get him with his own people.” And everything should be fine then.” She kept telling herself that, because Eren had to be safer with them than out here where people were only too happy to cripple and abuse shifters.

“Yeah but….” Bert shook his head and leaned forward, his hands clasped in front of him and his face flushed enough to blur the edges of the many freckles spread across it. “The-they were acting protective of him, and he… I didn’t see much of it from where I was, but it looked as if he was protecting them, too.”

She really didn’t need this right now – they had to get back to the house, regroup and figure out their next move before Eren got too far out of reach. “We don’t know what they’ve done to Eren since they got their hands on him – you know why we stick together, how easy it is for others to influence us.”

“But….” Bert shook his head again while Reiner rubbed his back. “That guy, the scary one, he really was coming at me. He didn’t want me anywhere near Eren.”

“Because he must realize how valuable Eren is,” Reiner reassured him. “We can’t trust anyone out here, especially a necromancer. And an Ackerman… they’re one of the worst.”

Bert looked about to argue with that statement, and then he sank back into the seat next to Reiner and motioned for Annie to continue. Annie glanced at Reiner to see if he was going to add anything else, but he merely shook his head as he tucked the blanket back around him and his boyfriend.

“All right then, we’ll get together with Hitch and work up some location spells, along with seeing if we can’t figure out what Ackerman used to whammy Bert back there.” Ackerman and his friends would probably do their best to cover their tracks as they fled with Eren, but Annie was willing to bet there was still some sort of emotional link that Hitch could use between the dead were and the blood witch at the least to trace them considering how pissed off the woman had been. Plus, there was only so far their prey could run in a couple of hours. “Let’s get this over with and get back on the trail.”

“Yeah, Hitch is going to be a real doll when she sees we came back empty-handed.” Reiner didn’t sound in the mood to put up with the spoiled necromancer, not that Annie could blame him.

“Then she’s going to be even happier when she has to work all through the night, most likely, to help us track.” Annie could deal with Hitch’s bitchiness, it was preferable to the phone call one of them would have to make back home to let *him* know that they still hadn’t obtained Eren.

Why was it that with each passing day, what should be an uncle’s concern for his gifted nephew came off more as a frightening obsession?

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully not too many mistakes this time (grr, especially formatting) - again out of town and so have a bit of distraction while trying to do the final edit. Also, hoping to stay on track w/ the writing but no guarantee with all the traveling and such.
> 
> And obviously there will be some familiar faces in the next chapter.


	7. Words are easy, like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another chapter! More characters added! You get to see a little more of Levi's talent in action here, too....  
> Once again, thank you so much for the comments and kudos left so far, they are greatly appreciated!

*******

Levi put yet another damn bag into the ostentatious Land Rover Erwin had dug up from somewhere and slammed the door shut. “Tell me there’s nothing left in the house at this point – I refuse to take the shitty kitchen sink.”

Erwin rubbed at his impressive thick brows and shook his head. “If there is, I say we just leave it – Hange has to learn to let go for once.” Then he seemed to think of what he had just said and blanched. “Well, of physical items, I mean.”

Yeah, they’d be dancing around Moblit’s death for days to come, Levi was willing to bet. “Too many fucking books – hasn’t she heard of digital?”

The weak joke seemed to restore Erwin’s confidence. “I asked her that once, and got an hour-long rant about how some things just had to be traditional and it just wasn’t proper spell casting if you were pulling it up from a kindle of all things and not hide-bound paper. I was too terrified to ask her what type of ‘hide’ she was talking about...”

“Speaking of the lunatic.” Levi frowned and folded his arms over his chest as he noticed Hange heading toward them from the house with something in her hands – fortunately it looked small and not another box or bag of heavy books. “What the fuck is it now? We barely have room enough in the car for Erwin.”

She looked up from whatever it was wrapped in what appeared to be a black scarf to frown at Levi in return. “I was just double-checking that I hadn’t forgot anything and came across this – you can use this, right? It’s something of Moblit’s.” She held out her hands to him to reveal a shaving razor.

Levi froze as he studied the common item; Moblit must have used it the last time he’d been here, about a week ago, because Levi could pick up a faint sense of the man’s death emanating from it. There had to be traces of Moblit’s stubble and skin in the blades, and maybe even a little blood. “Fuck yeah, I can use it,” he told her as he reached for it, careful to wrap the scarf around it to ensure that those faint traces of ‘Moblit’ weren’t lost.

Erwin’s thick brows drew together while he figured out what Hange had brought to Levi. “Wait – you can contact Moblit’s soul?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I can do it – that other necromancer used part of it in their spell, but it takes a lot of effort to obliterate one and they didn’t manage to do it before. I should be able to reach out to what’s left of him and get some answers we need.” Levi went back to the SUV so he could place the razor in the glove compartment where it would be safe until they got to the cabin.

Hange was right on his heels, an intent expression on her face. “Reach out to him and find out who the fuck did it – I want to know and I want to return the favor of scrapping them into parts to cram into a fucking bag.”

And someone had just gone way past bugfuck crazy, but Levi would be out for blood if someone had done this to Isabel or Farlan, and he wasn’t about to let this half-assed necromancer get their hands on Eren. “Dial it back a notch or two for now, okay? We have to get somewhere safe first and then I’ll do the ‘I talk to dead people’ shit and get some answers.”

“You better.” Hange’s eyes flashed red for a couple of heartbeats before she turned toward the house. “Come on, let’s go get the kiddies and then burn this place to the ground.” She didn’t sound all that upset about the prospect of torching her own home – but then again, she’d just lost a long-time friend, a house didn’t rate all that high compared to Moblit’s death.

Erwin reached out to clutch at Hange’s right shoulder, and she allowed the gesture for a couple of seconds before holding her head high as she continued onward to the house. Levi followed, intent on grabbing his lover and then getting the hell out of here before any more trouble found them for the time being – all he could sense of his lover’s magic was a low ebb, so he assumed that Eren was behaving. Upon entering the house, he went to the kitchen where he found Eren packing a cooler of food while Hange headed back to the bedroom as if to fetch something.

“Oi, you ready to go yet?”

“Yep, just finished brewing a pot of coffee.” Eren held up two thermoses in his hands. “One for coffee, one for tea. There’s enough food for the drive to, well, wherever. Wasn’t sure if the place would be stocked or not so thought it might be nice to not arrive with an empty stomach.” He appeared better than he’d been when Levi had sent him inside, flushed and woozy on his feet – his eyes were bright and there was color back in his cheeks.

“Whatever, just put the shit in the cars so we can leave before those assholes show up again.” Over by the fridge, Mikasa glared at Levi as if he was being an asshole, but Eren just rolled his eyes as he tossed one of the thermoses at Levi.

“I should make you drink coffee but then I’d have to put up with your bitching.”

Levi caught the metal container with ease and reached out with his free hand to pull Eren over to him. “Maybe you haven’t lost all of your brains just yet.”

“Hmm, maybe.” Eren pressed against his left side, a warm, soothing presence of wild magic, soft hair and even softer sweater, and Levi allowed himself to enjoy the moment after the stress of the fight and the rush of packing. Then he gave Eren’s delectable ass a pat.

“Get moving before Erwin burns this place down around you.”

“Fine, fine.” Eren appeared to be sulking as he pulled away, but his magic was still calm as he gathered up one of the coolers of food. “Who’s riding with who?”

“You’re with me, while Mikasa and Armin are with Hange.” When Mikasa appeared ready to argue, Levi shook his head. “Keep an eye on her, okay? I’d ride with her but I think it’ll help, having someone other than me and Erwin around. She might vent better if she thinks we’re not babysitting her.”

Mikasa’s stern expression lasted for a few more seconds before it wavered. “We’ll be following each other, right? You won’t be far away.” She glanced back and forth between Levi and Eren as she spoke.

He rolled his eyes as he shook the thermos. “I’m not going to run off with your precious brother.”

“I don’t know, might be nice to head off somewhere, maybe the mountains or the beach,” Eren called out from the doorway leading to the living room. “Go ahead, run off with me.”

It was Mikasa’s turn to roll her eyes as she buried her chin into the ever-present red scarf. “Have fun being stuck in the same car as him for a couple of hours,” she said as she picked up the other cooler.

“Brat… might be a good time for you to play with those tentacle plants again and then pass out,” Levi griped as he followed Mikasa out of the kitchen, Eren falling in step beside him once they caught up to each other in the living room.

“See if I bother to heal you a second time.”

“Wow, are they at it again?” Armin came out of Hange’s bedroom with a couple of bags slung over his shoulders. Since Levi didn’t see his friend, he assumed that she’d grabbed what she’d come in for and had already left.

“Yes, apparently we get a reprieve from it since we’ll be riding with Hange.”

“Oh, thank god.” Armin smiled at Mikasa and motioned for her to proceed him out the door.

Meanwhile, Eren took to sulking once more as he paused to pull on his – well, Levi’s spare – leather jacket. “You guys suck.”

Levi had to agree with his lover on that, yet all he did was give the two tagalongs a cool look which made Armin become flustered and nearly drop one of the bags. When Eren headed toward the Land Rover, Levi snagged hold of his arm and nodded toward the motorcycle parked near the SUV.

“So, we get to go charging across the countryside on a bike, how fun.” Eren carried the cooler over to SUV where Erwin was waiting.

“You were the one bitching about being bored and wanting to go somewhere, so don’t give me any shit about how you’re getting there.” Levi nodded to Erwin to let him know the house was empty, then went over to Hange. “You ready?”

“Yeah.” Her jaw jutted out as if her teeth were clenched, and then she shuddered. “I was thinking of getting something a bit more modern anyway, maybe with some more room. Place was a bitch to cool off in the summer, anyway, and the wiring sucked.” She turned toward Erwin and nodded; the mage paused only for a moment or two before his eyes flared azure and then the same color sparked inside the house, glowing through the windows before it quickly consumed the structure. Now there wouldn’t be any of their personal items left behind for the enemy to use to track them down.

“All right, let’s get our asses on the road. Sooner we get to where we’re going, sooner I get some blood.”

Count on Hange to remember that; Levi clicked his tongue as he pushed Eren toward his bike. “You’re a shitty vampire, you are.”

“Eh, wouldn’t that be fun?” Hange clacked her teeth together as she slung a bag into her beat-up hatchback before climbing inside. “Race you to the cabin!”

Erwin groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t draw attention to yourselves! Oh why do I even bother?”

“Because you drive like an old lady,” Levi reminded his friend while he handed over a helmet to Eren, then stashed the thermos in the right side bag. “Least now you’re driving a soccer mom car.” He grinned when Erwin gave him the finger before climbing inside the huge SUV. “Well, get your ass in gear, brat.” For some reason, Eren was just standing beside the bike.

“One sec.” Eren closed his eyes and there was a flare of magic for several seconds before he slipped the helmet on over his head, and then he climbed on the back of the bike. Levi scrutinized his lover for couple of seconds before he did the same, and once he was settled on the bike, a warmer than usual Eren pressed against his back – he could feel the heat radiating through the heavy leather jackets they both wore, along with that addicting sense of magic. Instead of starting up his bike, he flipped up the visor of his helmet. “Eh? What the fuck did you do now?”

Eren flipped his visor as well. “It’s something I learned over the years, syphoning energy from the earth for heat. Figured it could help keep us warm for the ride.”

Levi recalled Armin saying something about Eren tapping into the earth or environment for energy, so all he did was grunt and close his visor before he started the bike; it would help make the ride more bearable. “Not bad.” Either somehow Eren had heard him or picked up his approval through his emotions, since his boyfriend’s arms gave him a squeeze right before Levi gunned the bike into motion.

So they might be on the run and Hange was out of a house and a dearly beloved friend, but Levi had magic all around him, an open road before him and Eren at his back, body following his every move with an evident trust. Somehow… somehow things didn’t seem so bad.

So yeah, he knew things were going to get fucked up at some point.

*******

Exhausted from both the drive and from casting spells the entire way, Petra killed the engine of her car and took a moment to rest her head against the steering wheel. She probably should have stopped at the last rest station… but yeah, stopping would have meant that someone might have seen her, so best to just carry on. Besides, she was here now, and it looked as if she was the second one here, unless Erd had hitched a ride with Gunther since she recognized the truck parked next to the ‘cabin’.

She got out the car and was reaching back in for the large duffel bag when the door to the cabin opened up and two tall figures strolled out, along with the feel of their familiar magic. Leaving the bag be for now, she smiled and laughed when Gunther rushed forward to give her a hug. “How did I know that the two of you would beat me here?”

Gunther swept her off her feet for the hug and nearly made her ribs crack with the force of it. “Maybe because we were closer? You look good.”

As soon as she was set down, Erd hugged her as well, though he bent down to enfold her in his arms. “He picked me up at the train station, we figured it would be better if I drove and he cast the spells.”

“Yeah, I’m wiped out from doing both.” Petra’s smile slipped a little as she thought about how usually Olou drove while she did the casting, and she caught the sympathetic looks her friends gave her as they must be thinking the same. “I picked up on Gunther’s wards, just something basic?”

He nodded while Erd reached into the car to grab some of the bags for her; both of them looked good as well, looked barely changed from when she’d last seen them, which had been a couple of months ago at Olou’s wake. They were dressed for the cold, and Erd’s blond hair was a little longer while Gunther had shaved off the beginning of the goatee that he’d been attempting to grow out. “Yeah, I wanted some sort of ward up just in case, but I’m sure Levi, Hange and Erwin are going to ward the place to the high heavens once they arrive.”

“Which should be in a couple of hours, from the last message we received,” Erd motioned for Petra to enter inside before him.

The ‘cabin’, more like a mountain lodge, was warm and spacious, an open floor plan with lots of wood beams and overlarge furniture. It was clear that in the little time that Erd and Gunther had been there, that they had been busy prepping the fire places and airing it out, as well as starting to clean the place in anticipation of Levi’s arrival. Petra smiled as she began to unbutton her heavy coat. “Well, assign me a room to throw my stuff in and I’ll help you get the place ready. There’s how many of us? Levi, Erwin, Hange and the person we’re protecting?” There hadn’t been much in the message that had been passed on to them, just that Levi needed them, Moblit was dead and Hange had been compromised, and it was all because Levi had taken in someone who was being targeted; all they needed to know was Levi wanted their help.

“Well, there’s six rooms here so there shouldn’t be too much of an issue about space, but Gunther and I are sharing. Not sure how long Erwin’s staying or if Mike and Nanaba are showing up at some point, so you might have to share with Hange.” Erd gave her an apologetic look.

Petra shrugged to show she wasn’t bothered by that. “I’ve survived worse.” Besides, she might be able to help Hange at the moment; the blood witch’s relationship with Moblit wasn’t quite the same as hers with Olou’s, though Moblit had clearly worshiped the ground Hange walked upon, but Hange had still cared deeply for Moblit.

At least all the rooms had queen-sized beds in them, if not king-sized, so sharing wouldn’t be a problem. Petra picked one of the bedrooms by the top of the stairs and once again wondered how Erwin managed to find these places – just how powerful was his ability to glamour and compel? He never appeared to use it on any of them or else Levi wouldn’t follow him, but he did come across the oddest things….

Once that was settled and all of the supplies were brought in, she pitched in on the cleaning, since they knew Levi wouldn’t be able to rest until the place was decent and warded. While their own magic was adequate to protect the cabin – between them they had three of the four elements covered and were quite powerful – Gunther was right in that the main warding would fall onto the ‘heavy hitters’ of their small group so they could at least help out with the cleaning for now.

“So what do you think made Levi pick up a stray?” Gunther asked as he wiped up the floor. “Another necromancer?”

“Maybe. Perhaps the kid has some Ackerman blood in ‘em.” Erd paused in his dusting to consider the matter. “That or maybe they’re one of the rare two active bloodlines, like Isabel.”

“Well, we’ll find out soon enough.” Petra used her talent to help clean the large chandeliers which lit up the lower level. “Has to be something impressive for Levi to take the poor kid in.” Though if they resembled Isabel, whom she’d heard about, it would explain a lot; the little she’d been told about Levi’s adopted sister, she knew he adored the younger woman and her husband, Farlan. The few times that Erwin managed to bring back any letters from them were the happiest she’d seen the necromancer.

“True.” Erd paused in the cleaning to check something on his phone, which caused his face to flush as he texted back. “Just about an hour now.”

“Shit.” Gunther redoubled his efforts to clean the floor, while Petra whipped up a breeze to knock the dust free and then directed the particles outside. They hurried about as fast as they dared while mindful of what was happening outside, pausing at every brush of life force against their walls of earth, air and water around the cabin.

They had just finished cleaning the kitchen when Gunther straightened up from organizing the pantry. “There’s three vehicles approaching, a bike and two cars. They’re about a mile away.” A moment later, Erd’s phone began to buzz.

He wiped his hands dry before he picked it up and checked the message. “Yeah, that should be them.” Everyone hurried to put the cleaning products aside as they ran toward the front door, spells ready ‘just in case’; Petra felt a budding excitement at seeing Levi again along with some fear in case it wasn’t him.

She recognized the sound of the motorcycle that pulled up to the cabin, followed by a hatchback that had seen better days. Last was an unfamiliar SUV that looked out of place with the other two vehicles, though she could recognize Erwin behind the wheel before her attention returned to the bike with its two riders. As soon as the kickstand was in place, the driver reached up to take off his helmet and revealed a weary looking Levi, the dark circles beneath his grey eyes pronounced and a guarded expression on his face.

Behind him was a slightly smaller figure who made to take off their helmet as well, at least until Levi grabbed at their hand. “Wait a minute, brat.” The figure stiffened, and after a couple of seconds slumped against Levi’s back.

Confused as to what was going on, Petra shared a look with Erd, who shrugged before he ran a hand over his hair, some of the blond strands escaped from the low ponytail he’d pulled it back into and frizzed out around his face. “Ah, hello?” he called out to Levi.

“Yeah.” Levi leaned on the handlebars of his bike while Erwin, Hange and two strangers got out of the vehicles – they looked to be in their late teens or very early twenties, which didn’t mean much if they were magic users. One was a blond guy of middling height who clutched at the leather bag in his hands and the other a pretty girl about the same height who appeared Asian, with pale skin, dark hair and almost black eyes. Petra had never seen them before, but she didn’t know everyone who reported to Erwin so it didn’t bother her too much. What did bother her was the way that the two stared at her with open hostility and suspicion. “Look, this is going to sound odd, but use your magic.”

“Huh?” Beside her, Gunther folded his arms across his chest and frowned. “What’s going on here? Who are those two?”

“Just do it,” Erwin ordered, his expression unusually grave and a brilliant spark in his blue eyes. “We need to make sure of your identities.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense! You told us to come here,” Petra called out.

Hange gave them a terrifying grin as she adjusted her glasses, her eyes fiery behind the lenses. “It’s simple, prove to us who you are or….”

“Oh for fuck’s safe,” Gunther snapped as he made a gesture with his right hand and caused the ground to rumble for a couple of seconds, but not where Levi and the others were standing. As soon as the familiar feel of his magic ceased, Petra sighed and caused a gust of wind to whirl about, leaves dancing all around the front of the porch, and Erd joined in to make fog coalesce in front of them as soon as the leaves fell to the ground. “Happy now?”

Hange paused to look at Levi, who nodded after a couple of seconds. “Mostly, now for a question – how did you bet on the big pot for Levi?” Her grin wasn’t as disturbing just then, was more wicked than anything.

“You shitty glasses, I should-“

“Ah, let them answer, Levi,” Erwin cut off Levi’s tirade while Petra felt her face heat up over the fact that they had to answer such a question in front of the object of the bet.

“Uhm, well, I put in two hundred that he’d find a nice wu-woman one day,” she stuttered out while she refused to look at Levi, her hands twisting in the hem of her beige sweater.

Gunther made a choking sound as he rubbed at his face, seemed about to object and then glanced at a still on-edge Hange. “Oh god… three hundred and fifty that he’d never find anyone to put up with him. I’m so sorry, sir.” The look on Levi’s face just then did *not* bode well for the earth mage.

Erd found a sudden interest in studying the bit of stonework beneath his feet. “Uhm, yeah, three hundred on that he’d scare away whoever it was he’d ask out.” He glanced up to catch Levi’s expression and the blood drained from his face. “Why are we doing this?”

“Because we’re fighting people who can assume anyone’s shape – that’s how they got to us at Hange’s house, they pretended to be Moblit. As embarrassing yet enlightening this has just been,” Erwin’s lips twitched for a moment, “I believe you’ve just proven yourself.”

“Proven you’re a bunch of bastards,” Levi muttered while for some reason, the young blond guy was stifling a laugh and the girl was burying her face in the red scarf wrapped around her neck. As for Hange, she was grinning in a very pleased manner while stalking toward them with her right hand held out.

“You’re also a bunch of losers – now pay up!”

“Huh?” Petra blinked in surprise while Hange cackled at them. “I don’t understand, and what do you mean, someone took on Moblit’s shape? How is that possible? That would mean they’re shifters, and there’s only one shifter around now.”

“Yeah, some Aaron kid or something like that, Reiss and every other organization is after his ass,” Erd pointed out while Hange appeared to lose some of her good mood.

“You’re partially right,” Levi snapped as he got off of the bike and yanked the helmet off of his companion. “Meet Eren, the shifter everyone’s after. Eren, meet the dumb fucks of my team – Petra, Erd and Gunther.”

Petra once more stared on in amazement at the kid Levi revealed to them – he was about the same age as the other two, with chin-length dark brown hair, golden skin and lovely green eyes. He glared at Levi as he ran his hands through his disheveled hair and climbed off of the bike as well, and Petra was astonished to see that he stood about an inch short of Levi’s height. “Why does everyone except Hange bet against you?”

“Because they’re a bunch of dumb fucks.” Levi reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind Eren’s ear. “Now get your ass inside so we can work on the wards.”

“Wait, that kid is a shifter?” Gunther sounded incredulous just then, which Petra could understand since she had never expected to see one in her life. “And you’re implying that there’s other shifters out there?”

“Yeah, and we can talk about this inside, where it’s warm.” Levi pushed Eren in front of him, and the dark-haired girl hurried to catch up to them on the porch.

“The situation is a little complicated,” Erwin admitted. “Also, we have Mikasa and Armin joining us. Mikasa is Eren’s sister and Armin is his friend.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Petra greeted them as they entered the house together. The young man, Armin, returned her smile and nodded.

“Thank you for helping us.”

“Skip the damn pleasantries for now, we’ve got a ton of shit to do.” Levi came to a halt inside the large foyer and grunted. “It’ll do, Smith.”

“I’m so pleased that it meets with your approval,” Erwin drawled as he dropped the bags which he’d brought in with him on the floor. “At the least, there should be a few more bedrooms here than at Hange’s place.”

“Like I give a fuck about that right now, let’s ward the place.” Even so, Levi dew a fingertip along the surface of the bannister as he bitched, so Petra believed him to be pleased when he pulled it away dust-free.

There was a knowing smile on Armin’s face when he turned to Petra. “Erwin said you’d be bringing some supplies with you? I need a few things if I’m to help out.”

Before she could answer, Gunther stepped forward as he motioned to Armin. “You can follow me, I was in charge of that.” Her friend still seemed a bit stunned and confused, but was on a bit more even ground helping out.

“Great! I hope you have some mandrake root, ground tourmaline and jasper, along with….” Armin’s voice faded out as they disappeared in the direction of the kitchen.

“Armin can help us after he restocks, along with Gunther. Levi and Mikasa, I take it you noticed all of the undead, right?” Erwin looked at the two of them, which surprised Petra as she hadn’t guessed that the young woman was also a necromancer; this whole evening was one new revelation after another, enough to make her head ache. She shared a look with Erd and judging from the wry grin he gave her, he felt the same. “I chose this location on purpose since it’s an old battleground.”

“Yeah, can’t help but notice all of the spirits buzzing around.” Levi waved his right hand about in the air as he glanced at Mikasa. “You did pick up on that, right?”

“Yes, I’m noticing them more and more now.” She stared at Eren for several seconds, who was standing right beside Levi. “I’ll have a few watch over Eren while we’re outside.”

“Gah, it’s creepy when you guys do that, it’s like all these cold spots around me.” The cute shifter shuddered and pressed against Levi, which for some reason he allowed. “What am I going to do while you’re out there?”

“Make sure our bedroom is clean,” Levi ordered as he gave the kid a swat on the ass; Petra stared on in bewilderment, uncertain that she’d just seen what had happened. When she looked over at Erd, she saw him gaping at the two as well.

“I believe Armin is still hoping to try to figure out how to prevent the other shifters from breeching our wards with their special armor, so be prepared to shift for him at any moment,” Erwin added as he headed for the front door. “I’ll sleep better at night knowing that problem has been solved.”

“And you still owe me some blood! The both of you do!” Hange waved at them as she followed Erwin outside.

Levi’s expression was a bit bitter at the moment, as if reminded of something he found unpleasant. “Fuck, at this point we’re never going to bed. You better put on some coffee and make some tea, as well as something warm for us to eat.” Moving as if it was entirely natural, he slid his hands into Eren’s tousled hair and tilted the shifter’s face upward for a brief kiss. “Now stay the fuck out of trouble, and if I see you step a toe outside before the wards are finished, I will kick your ass.”

Eren wrinkled his nose as he pushed Levi away. “So mean, I should make something you don’t like just for that.”

“Good luck, brat, I’m not picky.” Levi gave a flick to Eren’s forehead before he turned around. “It’s why I’m stuck with you.”

“You… oh!” Eren’s eyes flashed with anger, and now that they were inside, Petra noticed that they weren’t just green, but a blue-ish green color. “Go freeze your ass off!” He continued to glare until his sister gave him a quick hug.

Still confused with everything but now a bit amused as well, Petra grabbed her coat from where it was hanging on the bannister and fell in step beside Levi. “So, uhm, no nice woman?” she dared to ask.

The look she received just then would scare many a person, yet she also noticed the way that Levi’s lips twitched the slightest bit upward. “Fuck you for taking part in that shitty bet, and yes, no nice woman.”

“Well, at least he seems like a nice man.” All Petra had ever wanted was for Levi to find someone and be happy, to not be so alone. Yes, he had an abrasive personality and walls so thick that she had despaired of him ever meeting someone who would be able to break through them, but Eren didn’t seem to care about the roughness and somehow had gotten through the defenses.

Levi scoffed at that as they stepped off of the large covered porch. “He’s a damn brat, but he’s all right.” His expression softened a little as he tugged on his thick leather gloves. “Guess he grows on you.”

“If he’s that bad, just say the word and we’ll be on our way.”

Petra turned to find Mikasa standing behind them, an inscrutable expression on her face that somehow reminded her of Levi.

Levi clicked his tongue as he rolled his eyes. “Bet that would make you so happy. Little shit would be caught within two days if it weren’t for me watching over his ass.”

“Hmm, is that what you call it?” Mikasa gave Levi a rather smug look for some reason before she brushed past, and Petra found herself wanting to giggle, especially when Levi turned to glare at her.

“So, she’s his sister?”

“Adopted sister.” Levi rubbed at the back of his neck as he scowled at Mikasa’s departing form. “And a cousin of mine, according to Hange.”

“Wow, okay. A lot really has been going on, hasn’t it?” Petra’s head truly did ache from all of the revelations in the past fifteen minutes or so.

“You don’t know the half of it.” Exhaustion seemed to wear down on Levi for a few seconds, and then he shook his head. “Things are about to get fucked up, but I’m glad you and the others are here.”

Despite the cold and all of the surprises, Petra smiled up at her friend and team leader. “We’re happy to be here, sir. Just let us know what you need.”

He nodded once as he looked aside, as always not one for many words, especially at a time like this. Still, she knew he was grateful for them to be there, and she was so happy that he’d picked them for something so important. Together they joined Hange, Erwin and Mikasa and began to plan how to set up the wards.

*******

“Fuck but I’m tired.” Levi scrubbed at his face as if it would help him to stay awake, more than ready to crawl into bed and sleep for the next six hours or so, maybe even eight at this point; the fight earlier in the day along with all the wards cast, manipulating the dead and driving for hours while casting more magic had worn him out, even with the added boost of magic from Eren.

“Oh no, no sleepy time or even naughty time with your snuggle-bunny until you do some magic for me,” Hange chided as she followed him into the cabin. “And give me some blood!”

“Snuggle-bun- what the *fuck* is wrong with your brain? Seriously?” Levi stared at her in what felt to be horror while behind her, Erd appeared torn between being aghast and amused, before settling on aghast. “Did you take too many blows from that big ass shifter or what?”

“Hmm, nope, not quite, I think he was trying to snap my neck.” Hange’s grin just then was even more disturbing than usual. “Now come on, magic, magic,” she half-sang while clapping her hands; the noise attracted the others, who had entered before them and were in the process of shedding their shoes and coats.

Armin groaned as he leaned against the wood paneling, half-stumbling in the attempt to remove his boots. “Ugh, please, no more magic until I eat.” Mikasa helped to steady him and nodded as if she agreed.

Meanwhile, Eren, dressed in one of Levi’s black sweaters and holding a steaming mug in each hand, sidled forward as if he was waiting to be snapped at, too. “Uhm, some tea?”

“Give me that.” Levi snatched at the mug and nearly sighed as he felt Eren’s magic wash over him, as welcome as the warmth of the cabin and the hot beverage. “What have you been doing all night?”

“Taking a nap.” When Levi opened his eyes, which he’d closed to savor the tea, to glare at his lover, Eren gave him a cocky grin and handed the other mug to his sister. “There’s food in the kitchen for everyone – I settled on meatloaf, if that’s okay.”

“As long as it’s hot, I’m happy,” Gunther grunted as he hung up his coat.

“Oh, it’s been a while since we had your meatloaf.” No longer appearing so miserable and tired, Armin latched onto Mikasa’s arm and seemed ready to drag her into the kitchen. “And mashed potatoes?”

Eren smiled at his friend even as he leaned against Levi. “Yep, even some apple crisp since it didn’t take me too long to clean up the bedroom to a certain clean-freak’s standard.”

While Armin cheered and even Mikasa smiled, Levi gave his lover a flick to the ear. “I find any dirt, you’re sleeping on the floor.” He ignored Petra and Erd’s incredulous stares as Eren yelped, then turned to Erwin, who was busy tapping on his phone; how the bastard got a signal all the way up here was a mystery, but leave it to the man. “Oi, you spending the night?”

“Yes, might as well since it’s so late and Mike doesn’t have much for me right now.” Erwin smiled as he stuck the phone in the front pocket of his blue button-down shirt. “Besides, dinner sounds delicious.”

“Now we know why you had us pick up all the fresh food instead of just canned and frozen,” Petra commented as she followed everyone to the kitchen. “Erd was terrified that we were taking part in one of Hange’s experiments!”

“No I- well, there’s no telling what she might get into,” the water mage admitted with a sheepish grin. “I still remember what she did with pork that one time.”

As Gunther made a gagging sound, Levi glanced around for Hange but didn’t see his friend anywhere. “Uhm, do I want to know about the pork thing?” Eren asked as he took a step toward the kitchen.

Levi shook his head and sipped his tea. “Nah, just know that none of us will be eating it any time soon.”

“Okay.” Eren fussed with the clip that held his long bangs held back from his face and sighed. “You’re not going to let me go out and hunt something fresh, are you?”

That question earned the brat a flicking motion to his head. “Not unless the deer come past the wards,” Levi all but growled. “Be happy if I let you out on the porch.” They’d all combined their magic to make the wards as potent as possible, and Levi’d summoned the dead for a mile around – and whatever weapons that had been buried with them – while Armin would probably be up half the night working on that special potion of his until he figured out how to crack the shifters’ crystal wards. Even then, Levi wasn’t comfortable with the thought of Eren being out of his sight, not with enemies who could be *anyone*.

Eren paused and made that choking, frustrated sound of his as he grabbed onto Levi’s arm. “I’m not… gah! I’m not going to let just anyone take me out. I’ll have those damn plants swallow up all the magic even if it means I’m sick for a whole week and Armin’s swooning with joy from dosing me.”

“Huh, not a bad plan,” Levi admitted as he smirked at Eren’s defiance and anger, at the flare of magic burning into him. “Maybe there’s hope for a brain cell or two in there.” He tapped his fingers against his boyfriend’s left temple.

“Should have eaten your liver when I had the chance,” Eren gritted out, yet his arms slipped around Levi’s waist.

“Funny,” Levi drawled, mindful of the mug of tea as he draped his arms over Eren’s shoulders, “you go a bit lower than that when we’re-“

“See! He’s so your snuggle-bunny. Or maybe you’re his snuggle-bunny,” Hange proclaimed as she burst through the front door. “I have to think about these nicknames some more. Levi as snuggle-bunny and maybe Eren as-“

“Call me that again and I really will yank what passes as your soul from your body and shred it to atoms,” Levi snarled as he jerked away from Eren, hot tea splashing against his fingers. However, the pain only lasted for a moment as he switched the mug to his other hand and slashed his wet hand through the air. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Hange held up something in her right hand as if it was a prized trophy, and it took Levi a moment to recognize it as the wrapped razor from earlier. “You said you’d do your thing with this when we got here, so… do your thing.” She held it out to him, an expectant expression on her face.

Shit. Levi sighed as he ran his left hand through his hair, wanting nothing more than to tell her to fuck off for an hour or so, or even until tomorrow morning when he was rested. However, Moblit had been a friend, and Hange… yeah. As tired and hungry as he was at the moment, he knew how much she was hurting over Moblit’s death.

“Eren? Are you coming to eat?”

Beside him, Eren turned toward the kitchen and shook his head. “Not right – well, one sec.” He turned toward Levi and took the half-empty mug out of Levi’s hand. “I’ll be back, okay?” Before Levi could say anything, Eren went running off to the kitchen and his sister.

Great, so he was left to do this alone. Levi grimaced at the fact that he’d just got tea in his hair, even though his hand had been mostly dry, and sighed again. “Give me a minute or two to clear my head, all right?”

“Okay.” Hange handed him the bundle with a grateful smile. “I appreciate this, I really do.”

“I know.” It was part of the reason why he was doing this when what he really wanted was to sit his ass down and eat, but he also knew that if the situation was reversed, she’d be casting magic for him.

Steeling himself for the fact that he would be seeing the last few minutes of a friend’s life, Levi had begun to unwrap the scarf tied around the razor when he heard the sound of running feet and felt Eren’s magic approach. “Here! You can use this, right?” Eren, his brow furrowed as if concerned, held out an oversized mug and something wrapped in a napkin.

Levi stared at his lover for a couple of seconds before he set aside the razor on the long wooden table that ran along the wall of the foyer. “All right.” The mug held some more tea, which he set aside for the moment, while the napkin was unwrapped to reveal a soft bun filled with a slice of meatloaf. “You brought me food?”

“Yeah, you’re hungry, aren’t you?” Eren’s frown deepened as he looked first at the sandwich and then at Levi. “Don’t you like meatloaf? I know it’s not much, but it’ll help, right?”

“Aw, he’s just the cutest thing,” Hange cooed as she reached over to hug Eren. “I want him, he’s too precious for a grump like you.”

Levi crumpled up and threw the napkin at the crazy witch. “Fuck you, and hell no, get your hands off of him.” He scowled at her while he took a bite of the sandwich – shit did it taste good on an empty stomach – and reached out with his free hand to grab at Eren’s arm. “Leggo.”

Hange made a sniffling sound as she released Levi’s boyfriend. “So unfair that you found him first, but that’s life. Hey! You guys better save some food for us or I’ll unleash a nasty batch of hantavirus!” she shouted toward the kitchen while Eren shuffled closer to Levi.

“You’ll be pleased to know that Mikasa has already threatened to tie up and suspend from the ceiling anyone who doesn’t leave enough food for her brother, and Armin reminded her to include the two of you as well,” Erwin shouted back.

“Oh, well, okay.” The corners of Hange’s mouth tugged downward upon hearing that as if her fun had been spoiled.

“Uhm, I’m sure you’ll have a chance to infect everyone later,” Eren offered as he stood on his tiptoes to look over Levi’s shoulder at the razor.

“Aw, you really are utterly precious.” Hange’s good mood seemed restored upon being reassured, and she gave Levi a pointed look as he drank the last of the tea to wash down the sandwich; he’d forgotten that Eren could sense his emotions, and must have picked up on how tired and hungry he was feeling. “I’ll settle for a certain few people in particular.”

“You always did play well with others.” Levi brushed off his hands before he reached for the razor. “This might feel a little weird,” he warned Eren before he called up his magic.

As if unfazed by the warning, Eren pressed even closer. “But I like how your magic feels,” he murmured as his chin rested on Levi’s shoulder.

Yeah, like he’d ever heard that in his life before stumbling across a bewitching, addictive shifter brat; it should be distracting, having Eren pressed against his back like that, but the feel of his lover’s magic wrapped around him was actually soothing. It had been one hell of a day, and Levi found a bit of strength, of center, in Eren’s warmth and magic.

He luxuriated in the feel of it for a few seconds before he cleared his mind of everything but the sense of magic, his and Eren’s, the razor in his hand and Moblit. At first there wasn’t much, was a sense… was a sense of ‘static’. Levi had to push aside the annoyance he felt and hone his magic ‘sharper’ when it became clear that some semi-clever fuck had tried to disperse whatever was left of Moblit’s soul other than the bits that had gone into the glamour charm, but semi-clever didn’t mean jack shit in the end. He sent a narrow thread of power toward the razor, toward the remnants of the dead that were clinging to it and the ‘static’ burst apart right before images began to form in his mind.

Pain, there was pain, which he’d been expecting, guilt and fear and anger. Levi hissed and did his best to sift through the memories, to skim along them to find out what was important.

/No, no, hold on, think of something, think of… just count. Just keep counting and it has to end./ Pain had accompanied that memory, along with images of a tall, broad-shouldered guy with close-cropped blond hair and a scowling visage. Behind him an even taller, skinnier guy, face covered with freckles and looking ready to throw up at any moment, looming about as if to… to play Good Torturer to Bad Torturer? Was this the Skinless shifter who couldn’t fight worth shit?

Move a little further along, even if meant more agony.

/Fuck, *fuck*, the geas, what about the geas? Don’t talk, don’t say any- Hange, don’t tell them about Hange!/ Moblit’s despair flooded Levi, along with rage and agony, and this time there was a tiny blonde girl beside Bad Torturer, and off to the side…. Ah, yeah, Levi felt a wash of magic that helped to push aside the punishing emotions from Moblit’s memories and so could better concentrate on the images from his dead friend, could latch on to the glimpse of the pouting ‘teenager’. Just to be certain, he dived in once more.

/So-sorry… Hange…./ Yeah, that was enough, he could tell from the pain and remorse that the memory was among Moblit’s last moments, and the girl with the wavy hair had stood right in front of him as if preparing for his final breath. Shuddering from the effect of the magic, Levi opened his eyes even as Eren’s magic pulsed around him, so wild and potent and cleansing, his boyfriend’s arms wrapped tight around his chest and face buried against his neck.

He nodded to Hange as he handed over the razor before he patted the side of Eren’s head. “Choppy?”

“Like the damn sea,” Eren murmured, not even bothering to lift his head; Levi shivered at the feel of warm breath against his skin. “Magic felt good, but you gave me a headache.”

“Great, I’m sure Armin will have a potion for it.” He felt his lips twitch when Eren looked up enough to scowl at him and tousled the brat’s hair. “I know, I’m a mean old bastard.”

“You said it,” Eren muttered before he rested his chin back on Levi’s shoulder, his attention seemingly focused on Hange who was gazing expectantly at Levi; for once she was possessing a bit of patience so he decided to cut to the chase.

“From what I can tell, they caught up to him when he stopped for supplies.” At the flash of guilt on her face, he held up his hand. “You heard Erwin, rumor is those assholes have been tracking down our known associates, so don’t go kicking yourself over the fact that he was running an errand for you. Anyone tied to us has a target on them, so chances are they’d have gotten him one way or another since he was so close to you.”

“Yeah, but it made him easier to target.” Hange looked down at the razor then shook her head as she wrapped it and set it aside. “Doesn’t do any of us a lick of good to try to change the past or argue about ‘maybe’s. Go on.”

He slid his right hand along Eren’s arm just to enjoy the feel of their magic blending together. “I got a look at what the three of them may be like when they’re not all armored up, if they’re anything like Eren and don’t bother with the whole shifting thing all the time. It took a hell of a lot of pain, spells and potions to break Moblit, he didn’t just give you up when they asked.” Not that he thought that Hange believed Moblit would break easy, but it was worth giving the poor guy credit.

Hange’s mouth twisted upon hearing that, and her eyes flashed red behind her glasses. “I know, he was loyal to the fault. What about the fucker who created the charm to let them get through the ward?”

Levi’s lips pulled back into a rare grin at the question. “Well, I think it’s time to eat dinner.” When Hange’s eyes flashed again, he held up his hand. “We need Erwin for this – I got a good look at the bitch, but I don’t know who she is. That’s where Erwin comes in, social butterfly that he is.”

The hope was plain to see in Hange’s face, in her sharp smile. “He can track her down?”

“Once he puts a name to her, sure he can sic Mike on her trail for us.”

Hange pumped her left fist in the air while she cradled the razor to her chest. “Yes!”

Meanwhile, Eren stirred against Levi’s back. “Hmm, now you’re all jagged.” He poked Levi in the right side. “I hate Armin’s potions, you know.”

“Your life, so hard,” Levi teased as he pulled his lover forward for a quick kiss. “Come on, let’s go eat. The food should help with the taste of that potion.” He grinned some more at Eren’s whine.

“Well, it’s not quite feasting on the blood and bones of our enemies, but meatloaf will do for now,” Hange remarked as they headed for the kitchen.

*******

Mikasa sipped her coffee while she watched her brother and her cousin finish their dinner. “But you don’t even like sweet stuff!” Eren complained as Levi swiped another spoonful of his dessert.

“Yeah, but this stuff isn’t that sweet.” Levi rolled his eyes as he took a bite of the purloined apple crisp. “Besides, casting magic makes me hungry.”

“That would explain why you weigh a ton.” Eren made to shove at Levi and barely budged him in his chair.

“Please, I’ve nothing on the behemoth over there,” Levi waved his now clean spoon in the direction of Erwin, who sat at the end of the table and appeared rather bemused over the couple’s antics. “It’s just that I’ve actual muscle mass on me, unlike a certain someone who gets his ass kicked on a regular basis.” He made to poke Eren with his spoon before he went in for more dessert.

Eren attempted to bat at the spoon before he pulled the bowl toward his chest in a defensive manner. “You kick my ass because you cheat – it’s fighting like, ten to one.”

“You’re still losing, that’s what matters in the end.” Levi made a show of licking his spoon clean, which only made Eren even more irate.

Sitting beside Mikasa, Petra giggled into her right hand. “I never thought I’d see this – he really enjoys teasing your brother, doesn’t he?”

“Eren does make an easy target,” Mikasa admitted as she watched how Eren’s face became flushed with emotion; he always did express how he felt with so little reservation, it was one of her favorite things about him.

“Still, I’ve known Levi for… oh, for a few decades now, and I’ve never seen him so… so open with someone like this.” Mikasa glanced over to see Petra appear a bit wistful, with strands of auburn hair falling onto her pretty face. “He’s always been a little guarded even with us, yet he allows Eren close, even physically.” She looked at Mikasa and shrugged. “It’s difficult to explain, especially if you haven’t known him very long.”

Mikasa glanced at her mug and frowned as she thought about it. “No, I think I understand. Eren’s not as closed off, but still, he… it’s not easy, being a shifter. Too many people want to use that part of him.” She looked across at the table at how even though his brow was furrowed and he was complaining once again about something Levi had done, he was leaning against the man. “He’s never been like that with anyone but me and Armin, and before that with his mother. He doesn’t just go up to anyone and….” She motioned to the couple. “Says it’s something about Levi’s magic.” She kept the comment about sex to herself.

Petra regarded them for a few seconds and smiled. “Ah. Well, they seem happy together, which is what matters.” Then she laughed when Eren took to whining as Levi flicked him in the ear. “Maybe I spoke too soon.” She gave Mikasa a sympathetic look when Mikasa sighed and shook her head.

Meanwhile, Hange laughed, probably over whatever it was that had caused Levi to flick Eren, and got up to fetch the pot of coffee. “So, I see you got a new text, anything good?” she asked Erwin as she returned to the table.

Erwin held up his phone in his right hand while Hange refilled his mug first. “I sent the information that Levi provided to a few contacts, and one of them thinks they’ve narrowed down the necromancer.”

All around the table, people jostled awake from the near-dozing states they’d been in after finishing dinner; Armin blinked and lifted his head from the notepad he’d more or less been jotting notes in for the past ten minutes, Gunther jolted in his chair as if he had been drifting asleep while Erd held out his mug for a refill, his eyes a bit bleary, and Eren settled next to Levi while the necromancer leaned forward, his expression blank but eyes intent on Erwin. As for Hange, she filled several mugs then sat back down at the table, a feral grin on her lips. “Well, don’t hold us in suspense.”

Erwin smiled in a depreciating manner as he swiped along the front of his phone. “I’m having Mike do some follow-up, but I’m reasonably certain that, based on the description, the young woman is from the Dreyse line and goes by the name ‘Hitch’.”

None of that sounded familiar to Mikasa, but judging from the way that Levi’s face hardened, it did to him. “No wonder she’s such an arrogant shit, though she must be from some auxiliary branch because I thought Kenny took out the main family when they started going around talking about how they were as powerful as the Ackerman line.”

“Yes, well, my source indicates she’s from an indiscretion between the former Dreyse head and a Reiss captain, which explains how her mother escaped your uncle’s… purge.” Erwin’s mouth flattened for a moment as he set his phone aside. “Apparently, the Dreyse bloodline flared up in Hitch, which proved a bit of an embarrassment, and she’s been a handful ever since.”

If Erwin had appeared disapproving before, Levi was pure disgust. “Right, poor pampered princess, she got the short end of the genetic stick and had no choice but to rebel.” He made a rude gesture with his left hand while his eyes flared silver and various mini-tempests spun about the kitchen; beside him, Eren’s face clouded with worry and he huddled against Levi until the necromancer clicked his tongue and the poltergeists calmed down. “So what, she wasn’t a fancy mage and decided to act up, to show how big and bad she truly was as a *necromancer*?” He clicked his tongue again as he tangled his fingers in Eren’s hair, which made Eren close his eyes and rest his head on Levi’s shoulder.

Hange appeared equally disgusted as her friend. “Yeah, and fell in with our buddies out there, only too eager to put those ‘nasty’ talents of hers to use.”

“Talents my ass. She can barely do more than a half-trained idiot – Mikasa can wipe the floor with her already.” Levi lifted his mug and sniffed at it.

Mikasa blinked at the unexpected praise, while Eren and Armin both grinned at her. “Thanks, I think.”

This time, the smile on Erwin’s face was genuine as he reached over to grab Levi’s mug and rose from the table. “Still, having a name is important – our ‘buddies’, as Hange calls them, have proven to be frustratingly elusive. This ‘Hitch’ can’t change her appearance so she should be easier to track down, not to mention she hasn’t appeared out of nowhere.”

Hange laughed as she reached around a sleepy Eren to pat Levi on top of the head, which ended when her chair skittered away from the table. “In other words, you did good, Grumpy!”

“Go fuck yourself,” Levi grumbled as rubbed his hand over his hair.

“Hmm, sorry, didn’t have the time to pack those toys, but *you* can always take Eren and-“ This time it wasn’t just Levi’s spirits that cause her chair to jump. “Ooh, ah, that’s fun!” She laughed as the chair bucked back and forth.

“We’ll know when one of those bastards get you and come in your place – they’ll be acting too fucking sane to pull you off.” Levi glared at her until Erwin returned to the table with a fresh mug of tea.

Hange grinned in the face of the insult, her chin propped up on her left hand. “Oh, I do so hope they take a stab at me, I’ve a biblical horde of plagues ready to be unleased on those bastards.”

“Hange, I will be very, *very* disappointed if you infect anyone who isn’t the enemy, do we have an understanding?” Erwin’s eyes flashed an incandescent blue as he gave the blood witch a stern look. “*No* accidents.”

Hange met his gaze for a few seconds and then took to pouting. “Fine, no ‘accidents’. You’re no fun, you know that?”

“I save my ‘fun’ times for when I’m not babysitting you and Levi.” Erwin smiled, just a little, before he sipped his coffee, and seemed immune to the nasty looks he received from his friends.

While Petra giggled and even Erd and Gunther appeared amused – Mikasa had to admit it was entertaining to see Levi be put in his place like that – Hange appeared to rally her good mood. “Oh, that’s right! The two lovebirds still owe me some blood. Gimme!” She made grabbing hands at Eren and Levi, only for her chair to bounce once more.

“Again, go fuck yourself.” Levi sighed as he set aside the now empty mug. “I’ve done enough for you tonight, harp on us in the morning.”

“Feeling too much sleepiness,” Eren murmured as he rubbed at his eyes.

Still on edge despite all the wards, Mikasa nearly cast out several threads when Erd pushed away from the table in a sudden rush, his chair scraping against the floor. “I’ll take first watch, sir. You should go get some rest.”

Gunther was quick to follow. “I’ll take second, and Petra the last watch.” The air mage nodded as she rose as well.

“Yes, so might as well get some sleep now.” She smiled at Mikasa before glancing around the table. “Good night everyone. Eren, thank you for the wonderful dinner.”

“Yes, it was really good. How about you and me wash up,” Armin told Mikasa as he closed his notebook and began gathering plates. “Then I can have some more coffee before working on that potion a little longer.”

“Sure.” She touched Armin on the shoulder to indicate she’d help him in a moment and then went over to her brother, who had just stood up. “You okay?” He did appear tired all of a sudden, his eyes sleepy and face a little flushed.

Eren smiled at her and stood up on his toes to give her a kiss goodnight. “Yeah, just… think it’s too much emotion.” He glanced aside at Levi, who was talking to Erwin and Erd. “Sometimes when I get tired, it’s not as easy to filter it out. It’s been a long day for the both of us.” For a moment she caught a glimpse of the worry that he must have done his best to hide for most of the day, the guilt that once again people had been driven from their homes because of him and then there was another sleepy smile. “You going to bed soon?”

“I’ll help Armin clean up and see that he’s set with what he needs, and if they want any help with the wards.” If she got some sleep now, she could join Petra with the last watch.

She could tell that Eren was about to volunteer and gave him a shove toward Levi. “Go on, you need some rest – I’m sure Levi and Armin will be after you tomorrow to try and figure out something about those new tricks you did today. Get some rest while you can.” She was with Levi in that she preferred Eren to be safe inside as much as possible; now that the shifters had seen her brother, she didn’t know what they needed to track him down since they were the same kind. All she had to do was close her eyes to remember the smile on ‘Moblit’s’ face when he had looked across Hange’s yard and spied Eren, how possessive and pleased it had been….

“Go on, take that boyfriend of yours and go to bed,” she urged her brother. “Make him get some rest and maybe he won’t be so grouchy for once.”

For a moment there was a churlish expression on Eren’s face, and then he relaxed and shook his head. “No promises.” He smiled as he went over to Levi, and Mikasa didn’t feel quite so jealous anymore at the way Levi pulled Eren close as if he belonged there.

“Come on, time to see if you did a half-ass job up th-“ Levi’s eyes flared silver as he stopped mid-sentence and Mikasa thought she felt something odd, something like a tingle of cold magic. While she attempted to figure it out, Levi dashed out of the kitchen with Eren on his heels, and she gave it no thought before she followed them, along with Hange, Erwin and Petra.

“Sir?”

“Levi!”

“Someone’s trying to track us down,” Levi shouted as he headed to the foyer and snatched at a small black bundle on the long, thin table out there. “Fuck, they must have snatched something from you, Hange, during the fight.”

Hange gasped as she all but skidded to a halt in front of him. “But what? Even if they got a hair or some skin, we’re warded like fuck-all!”

“Not if they can build on your link with Moblit!” Levi gritted his teeth as he clutched at the bundle, while Mikasa sucked in a breath at the thought of someone using the dead like that and Hange let out a blistering string of curses, her eyes a flaming red as if she was desperate to find someone to bespell. Erwin loomed beside her, his eyes glowing as well, as if to either protect Hange or the rest of them.

“Levi….”

“I’m trying, you bastard,” Levi snapped at the mage, his attention seemingly focused on the bundle while his magic flared; Eren was right beside him, his eyes glowing as well as he wrapped his arms around Levi’s shoulders. “Too much fucking magic today – the bitch is probably using a fresh death to help fuel this spell.”

“She can’t find us!” Mikasa’s hands itched, the threads threatening to spill out, to wrap around Eren so she could pull him toward her, to take him away somewhere safe; Armin had come out as well and stood beside her, another loved one to snatch up and take away.

“I *know* that! I-“ There was a pulse of wild magic, Eren’s magic, except now there was that tingle of cold to it that had never been there before, and Levi sighed as his own magic burned even colder. “Yeah, okay, got you now, you pissant little show-off.” Levi bared his teeth as he held his right hand above the bundle, and there was… was *something*, was a glimmer of white and what looked to be a swirl of wind for a moment before the overwhelming sense of magic died down. “There.” Levi sounded satisfied just then, right before he dropped the bundle and wrapped his arms around Eren. “Oi, just how much energy did you send me this time?”

“Ooohh… too much.” Eren’s voice was slurred as he slumped against Levi. “Gotta… gotta figure that out.”

“Eren!” Mikasa surged forward to help support her brother, who appeared ready to fall to the floor if it wasn’t for Levi’s hold. “Are you okay?”

He opened his eyes to blink at her and then closed them and groaned. “No poshions.”

Armin, who had come over as well, laughed and shook his head. “No more tonight, but tomorrow is another thing entirely.” He watched as Mikasa helped Levi hitch Eren up a bit more and then bent down to look at the bundle. “So you broke the link?” Hange came over to join them, a curious expression on her face.

“Yeah, you said something about ‘got you now’.” She held out her hand over the black wrapped object, as if worried about touching it.

Mikasa stroked her hand over Eren’s hair but left him to Levi, who didn’t appear so tired anymore; Levi nodded and studied the bundle for a couple of seconds before looking at Erwin. “At worst, they might have gotten a general idea of our location, but that’s it. The link wasn’t long or strong enough for the bitch to pinpoint us.”

Erwin nodded. “Troublesome, but it could be much worse. Thank you.” His eyes once more lit up with an incandescent blue before Levi cried out his name. “Yes? Wouldn’t it be better for me to burn it and prevent them from trying again?”

Levi shook his head, which prompted a low murmur of complaint from Eren over being jostled. “Normally, yeah, but the brat pumped enough juice into me that I was able to do more than just block the tracking attempt.” Levi hitched a barely conscious Eren up a little higher. “I was able to reverse the tracking spell, more or less.”

Everyone was quiet for a couple of seconds, and then Hange lunged forward so she could hug both Levi and Eren. “Oh you are just perfect, *perfect*, you grumpy bastard!”

“Erwin, get her off of me before I maim her,” Levi spluttered while Eren called out for Mikasa. Before the mage could do anything, Mikasa used her threads to restrain the blood witch. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Mikasa reeled her in until she was a few feet away and then let the strands disappear. “Don’t torment Eren,” she chided the woman, and ignored the dirty look she got from Levi.

Meanwhile, Erwin was back to examining the bundle, along with Armin, Petra, Gunther and Erd. “So we can use this to track down Hitch and the shifters?” Erwin’s right hand hovered over the item and a rare excitement lit up his handsome face.

Done glaring at both Mikasa and Hange for the moment, Levi glanced at the group and shook his head. “It’s more of a dormant tracker – you need to get close to her for it to work. Any other way would let her know that she was tagged and… well, the easiest thing for the shifters to do would be to either kill her or dump her ass anywhere if they realize she’s become a liability.”

“Understood.” Erwin picked up the item and set it on the table. “I’ll get a couple of hours sleep and then take this to Mike and Nanaba to help them with the tracking.”

“It really is a clever bit of spellwork, Grumpy.” Hange beamed at Levi as she fiddled with her glasses.

“Yeah, well, I doubt anyone other than an Ackerman could pull it off.” For once, Levi didn’t sound so bitter when he mentioned his family name, Mikasa noticed. “And having my own personal magic battery helped, too.” He hugged the arm around Eren’s waist a little tighter, which provoked a sleepy murmur from Mikasa’s brother.

Armin frowned at the two of them while he brushed his hand along the flap of his bag. “Another example of Eren being a key, it seems.”

“A very tired key.” Mikasa gave Levi a disapproving scowl and motioned to the second level. “We’ll take care of things down here, go put him to bed.”

“What are you, his mother?” Despite the caustic remark, Levi began to herd Eren toward the steps. “Come on, a new bed for you to hog. Step up. *Up* Oh for fuck’s sake.” Eren let out a squawk as he was lifted, almost half falling over Levi’s right shoulder, and carried up the stairs.

Erd cleared his throat as he headed back to the kitchen. “I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t pay the bet just yet – there’s still a chance he might scare Eren away.”

Hange let out a loud bark of laughter. “You wish – it’s been over a week already and they show no sign of letting up. Hand over the money, you sore loser.”

Mikasa watched as Levi and Eren vanished up the stairs before she followed everyone back into the kitchen.

*******

Eren jerked awake when he felt the bed roll beneath him, and blinked several times before he could focus enough to notice that Levi was up and pulling on a pair of jeans. “Hunzh?”

“Good morning to you, too.” Levi zipped the jeans closed then leaned over the bed to more or less kiss Eren’s forehead. “Go back to sleep.”

“Nah.” Eren rubbed at his face as he attempted to kick his bran into some semblance of working order. “No. What time is it?” It looked like daylight outside.

“About seven or so. We both crashed pretty hard.” Levi sounded a bit chagrined about that, and Eren knew that his lover usually didn’t sleep so much – Levi was always up a couple of hours earlier than him. “Get some more sleep, you look like shit.”

“No.” Eren fought with the blankets that were tangled around him and shook his head. “I’m good.”

“You’re a pain in the ass, you are.” Levi clicked his tongue as he sat on the edge of the bed and pushed Eren back down. “You were out of it before we even got to the room last night, so get some fucking sleep, all right?”

“No!” Eren caught at Levi’s hands and shifted his own into a pair of claws; he didn’t sink the long nails into his lover’s skin, but he did apply some pressure until Levi stopped trying to make him lie down and seemed willing to listen. “I’m not- I want to get up, okay?” It was difficult to think, to talk when he was still tired from sending too much magic to Levi, when he could feel Levi’s magic soak into him and Levi’s skin was so warm against his own… when Levi’s emotions were a mix of concern and growing annoyance. No, focus, he told himself as he took a deep breath, even as he curled up against his lover. “I just, let me get up.”

Levi sighed as he slowly pulled his right hand free and wrapped his arm around Eren’s shoulders. “And do what? Why do you need to get up?” The faint stubble on his chin brushed against Eren’s forehead as he spoke, and his hand rubbed small circles on Eren’s back.

“I’ll make breakfast,” Eren offered even as he closed his eyes. “I’ll… I just want to do something. Everyone else here is doing something and it’s because of me.” He felt a strong wave of guilt just then, enough to bring a prick of tears to his eyes which made him shake his head. “You had to burn another hou- aow!” He glared up at Levi over the painful tug to his hair.

Levi met his glare with a disapproving frown. “Told you not to talk about that again.”

“But-“

“*No*.” Levi tugged on his hair again. “Hange knew the risk, and she still let us stay there. She let *me* stay there however many fucking times, and the risks were the same. Ditto for Petra.”

“What about Moblit?” Eren went to pull free from Levi’s arm and remembered about his claws just in time. “Tell me the risks were the same for him.” A fresh wave of guilt washed through Eren as he remembered about the anxious but kind were.

This time Levi sighed as he shifted about to settle in a more comfortable position on the bed. “All of us are putting our lives on the line as long as we’re signed up with Erwin, Moblit included. He might not have known what you were, but he didn’t go running around for Hange thinking he was just picking up old books and funny herbs. He’s – he *was* fighting for something important, just like the rest of us, and the only thing that broke his heart at the end was that he was forced to give up info on Hange. Trust me, I *know*.” Levi glanced aside for a moment, his emotions shaded with grief, before he looked back at Eren with annoyance and affection. “So just stop with the guilt, okay? And thinking you have to push yourself for some stupid ass reason. No one’s blaming you for anything that happened, not when it’s those bastards’ fault.”

Eren wanted to believe him, he truly did, but he didn’t see how any of this would have happened if it wasn’t for him in the first place. “But-“

“*No*.” Levi gave him a rough shake, his annoyance flaring. “You want to be a big help? Listen to what I fucking say, all right? Obey my orders.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m doing my best to keep you from being taken!” Levi followed the loud declaration with another rough shake.

Eren opened his mouth to argue, to say something smart, but only could slump against his boyfriend as he pressed his hands against Levi’s bare chest. “Why?” he repeated again as he savored the feel of Levi’s skin, his emotions and magic.

Levi sighed as he let go of Eren’s shoulders and slung his arms around him instead. “Damned if I know, other than you’re worse than those plagues of Hange’s. Can’t get rid of you even if I tried.”

Eren settled against Levi and once more closed his eyes. “I don’t want anyone else to die because of me,” he admitted in a quiet voice. He didn’t want *Levi* to die because of him.

“Yeah, well, life isn’t always obliging like that, but we’ll do what we can.” Levi’s calloused fingers massaged the back of Eren’s neck as he spoke. “Those are tough people down there, they’ll give those bastards one hell of a fight.”

“I’d rather be the one fighting.” Hmm, that felt good.

“The problem with that is you have a huge-ass target painted on you. What type of shit strategy is it to give those guys the one thing they want?”

Eren grumbled as he nuzzled Levi’s neck. “Not so ‘shit’ if I’m ten feet tall and armored up, is it? Or maybe something else. Did a chimera once for Armin.”

“Brat….” The world spun around Eren as he ended up on his back upon the soft bed; he opened his eyes to find Levi looming over him, grey eyes darkened with desire and emotions a turbulent mix which shocked him awake. “The whole damn point here is to track those bastards down, kill ‘em before they have a clue what shit hit ‘em and never let ‘em catch sight of you again. Get it?” Stunned both by the anger and the lust he felt just then, Eren didn’t even blink when he got flicked between the eyes. “Nowhere in that plan is you getting within half a mile of them.”

Despite the desire building inside of him, Eren pushed at Levi’s upper chest – not that it did him any good, the bastard being made out of solid muscle. “But I can fight!”

“Fine, great, you can take on all those Reiss assholes once we’re done with those four bastards out there.” Levi smirked when Eren smacked his shoulder in frustration. “It’s not just me, wanna bet your sister tells you the same thing?”

“You’re both being overprotective, overpow- umph!” Eren’s rant ended as Levi swooped in for a kiss, his anger overwhelmed by lust and an annoying sense of amusement. His temper rallying for a brief rebellion to yank on Levi’s hair, he closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around the bastard’s broad shoulders. “Hate you,” he murmured when Levi pulled apart enough to yank away the blankets bunched between them.

“Yeah, I can tell.” The blankets out of the way, Levi ran his hands along Eren’s bare chest; in their wake, Eren shivered at the feel of his lover’s magic snaking its way beneath his skin like some type of insidious infection. “It’s still pretty weak, but what there is to your magic right now is flaring up like a grease fire.”

That… what did that mean? “Huh?” Eren stared in confusion while Levi smirked some more and his hand slid lower.

“Yeah, figures you have no clue.” Smug amusement and satisfaction washed into Eren as that hand slid beneath his boxers, and all of a sudden it didn’t matter what the hell Levi was babbling about. “A little eager, are we?”

He rocked his hips upward, his cock nudging into the long, calloused fingers splayed above it. “Can *feel* you,” he reminded the bastard, well aware that he wasn’t the only one who wanted this, that behind that smug expression Levi was barely holding back; Eren didn’t know *why* Levi wanted him, but he’d take it, would take all of it while it was offered.

There was an odd quirk to Levi’s lips as he leaned over to grab something from the far nightstand, which turned out to be a bottle of lube. “Yeah, keep forgetting that.” Setting the bottle on the bed, Levi then yanked down Eren’s boxers with enough force to slide him down the bed several inches. “Well, no sense in wasting time, I’ve shit to do today.”

“Hey! You just can’t ‘do’ me, I’m no-ahh….” Eren tossed his head back when Levi’s hand once more wrapped around his cock. “Bah-stard.”

“Yeah, yeah. Need a better repertoire there, brat.” Levi leaned in for a minute so his mouth could nibble along Eren’s arched neck while his hand continued to stroke and twist along Eren’s cock. At a particularly sharp bite, Eren heard the lid to the bottle snap open and moaned, his thighs spreading open in anticipation of what would happen next.

There was a low chuckle near his left ear before Levi pulled away. “Maybe this is better than you sleeping.”

“Always so mean,” Eren complained even as he trailed his now normal fingers along the back of Levi’s neck and then down his chest, delighting in the shiver it provoked from his lover at both the caress and the feel of magic; he’d learned that Levi enjoyed the gentle touches like this as well as the bite of not-too sharp nails.

Levi returned the caress to the inside of Eren’s right thigh before his slick fingers slid down lower, circling slowly and then pressed one inside. “You want me to be nice?”

Eren moaned as he closed his eyes, unable to answer for several short breaths as that finger worked its way inside of him. “Ah… I… just want you,” he admitted when he caught his breath. “However.” He could feel Levi’s emotions and magic, both entwined so deeply with his own and knew nothing bad would happen from giving himself over like this; with how fucked up things had become, it was one of the few things, the *only* things he could trust. *Levi* was one of the only things he could trust.

Things were quiet, were still for a moment, and then Levi grunted as another finger pushed inside. “Remember that,” he huffed, and Eren was soon writhing on the bed as those fingers twisted about inside of him, stretching and *just* brushing against that spot which sent ecstatic jolts through him. Levi gave a few more lazy pumps to his cock and then held on to his right hip to keep him from moving too much, prey to those wicked fingers, and damn if the bastard didn’t know just *when* to hold him still and slide them out. “Not yet,” Levi ordered when Eren felt as if his entire body was one raw nerve and a simple touch away from imploding.

“Nuh-no!”

“Yes.” So smug that it made Eren’s head ache, Levi wiped his hand on something then loosened and pushed his jeans as well as boxers down past his hips. “You’re not the only one who’s going to have some fun.”

“Then hurry up.” Eren reached out with both arms and legs to drag his bastard lover in close, hands entangled in Levi’s thick, straight hair and legs wrapped around lean hips. This close to each other, the sense of Levi’s magic was intoxicating, to the point where he wondered how he had lived without it before. “Hmm, it’s like a rush, your magic and emotions.”

“Just tell me how big my damn dick is, okay?” Yet Levi smiled as he pressed between Eren’s thighs, and the flash of anticipation was the only warning Eren had before his lover began to slowly thrust inside of him. Chapped lips brushed against his forehead as Levi pushed inside with a wonderful slow burn that made Eren whine impatiently as his nails dug into Levi’s shoulders.

“Just... come on,” he urged as his heels dug into the back of Levi’s denim-clad thighs.

The hair was brushed from his forehead, followed by the prickle of stubble and a proper kiss before Levi pulled back. “If you say so.” There was a flash of something in his emotions just then, something Eren couldn’t catch before strong hands clasped his hips and pulled them onto Levi’s thighs as he sat back on his heels, and then it was all he could do to brace himself against the headboard as pleasure and Levi pounded into him.

“Fu-fuck!” His back arched off of the bed as Levi’s thrusts sped up, caught up in the intense emotions pouring off of his lover and the spikes of bliss each time Levi hit that spot inside of him, from matching strokes along his own cock and – his body reacted to Levi, his talent reacting in minute ways that only increased Levi’s own pleasure, which reflected in his own, causing the emotions to spiral higher and higher, the magic to entwine tighter and tighter around them until it felt as if Eren couldn’t breathe, couldn’t suffer feeling anything else because his poor body and mind was already so overloaded with too much as it was-

And then Levi leaned forward, the motion jerking Eren’s hips a little higher as Levi’s cock sunk in a little deeper, as Levi’s mouth skimmed along Eren’s left cheek and-

“Levi!” Eren tossed back his head as he came, magic flaring and nerves burning from the ecstasy, fingers clenching against tense muscles; it felt as if something was draining from him again, yet it also felt *so damn good* that he didn’t care, his mind fuzzed and body tingling in the wake of his orgasm. As if from a distance, he felt Levi move inside him and against him, heard a muffled groan and barely worked up the energy to hug his lover close as Levi shuddered and more pleasure burst inside his head.

They both lay on the bed for about a minute, quiet except for their ragged breathing. Levi was the first to move, and Eren moaned because he had just been about to fall asleep and was upset at being disturbed. “You gonna start bitching now?” Levi asked as he once more sat back on his heels, a grimace on his face as he looked down around his crotch.

“Huznhmph.” Eren tried to work up the energy to roll over to a non-damp side of the bed and decided that maybe it wasn’t that important.

“Yeah, eloquent as fuck, same as usual.” Levi clicked his tongue as he climbed off of the bed; Eren heard the rustling of material and then running water, but was too tired to open his eyes to investigate. Just as he was about to fall asleep again, he hissed as something cool was wiped over his stomach.

“Wha?” He opened his eyes to glare at Levi, who was looming over him with a wash cloth in hand. Oh, and naked. Eren didn’t really care about that right now. Oh, and smug. Why was his lover so smug? That was more worrying… for later. “Go ‘way.”

“You’ll thank me for this when you wake up.” Levi wiped him off and then shoved him over to the other side of the bed; Eren resented being treated like a child until the blankets were pulled back up and tucked around him. “Strip the bed then.”

“Mmm, alright.” Finally, he could get some sleep. Eren snuggled deeper into the pillow, which smelled like Levi – who was still a smug bastard and grabbing clothes, from the sound of it.

“Rather sleepy for someone so insistent on getting up, aren’t you?”

What the – Eren managed to force his eyes open in an attempt to glare at the smirking bastard, but it was a losing battle since he’d been half-asleep before the snide comment. Later, he promised himself as the exhaustion pulled him back under. Get back at the sneaky bastard later….

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a bit wonky with a cold, hope there's no more than the usual typos in this. o.O And the next chapter is going to go a bit more into Eren's 'key' nature, there was a bit of it in the final scene (LOL, not JUST smut there), that will play out starting right when the chapter picks up. Promise.  
> Hmm, bit odd not ending the chapter with an Annie/trio PoV scene but yeah, things going on with them, too....


	8. Though this be madness, yet there is method in it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, you start to see some more answers here, some explanations on Eren's true nature in this universe and some motivation behind the trio as I try to wrap up this part of the story (still a few chapters to go, though). And, of course, what that means for him and Levi, both good and bad....  
> Once again, thank you so very, very much for the kudos and the wonderful comments!

*******

Levi rubbed at the shaved part of his head, a sense of guilt warring with the relief he felt over keeping Eren safely out of the way now that he’d left the room and realized just how much of his lover’s magic he’d inadvertently syphoned away; halfway down the steps he could still feel Eren’s magic inside of him, a warm, potent thrum in his bones. Fuck, all he’d wanted was to somehow keep the brat from doing something stupid, from pushing too hard and maybe slipping past the wards in his obvious guilt over Moblit and Hange, and….

Levi let out a quick breath as he reached the first floor. Yeah, something was going on, something he didn’t really understand, that all stemmed from Eren healing him yesterday. Maybe Erwin could help figure it- shit, he was supposed to have left during the night to go see Mike and Nanaba.

Wondering if he should talk to Hange about the weird shit or not, Levi entered the kitchen to find his friend seated at the large table, busy jotting down notes while slurping her coffee. Hair a ratty mess and dressed in a robe, she glanced up and smiled. “Hey, this is one for the record books – Levi actually slept in for once.”

Over by the industrial-sized fridge, Armin backed out with what looked to be a carton of orange juice in his hands, with dark circles under his eyes to indicate that he at least hadn’t gotten much sleep. “And without Eren, so I take it we’re on our own for breakfast?”

“Yeah, that’s a safe bet.” Levi went over to the stove and picked up the kettle so he could put on some water for tea. “He’s not going to be up for a couple more hours.” At Hange’s snide snicker, he gave his friend the finger. “Where’s everyone else?”

“Gunther and Erd are still asleep, and Mikasa and Petra are doing a perimeter check.” Hange slurped her coffee again as her eyes narrowed while she looked up and down at Levi. “Hey, is something a bit odd about you today?”

“I got a full night’s sleep for once.” Levi glared at her while he filled the kettle. “What?”

“Hmm, no, it’s more than that.” She squinted as if trying to see better. “I’ll figure it out eventually – oh, and you owe me some blood.”

He clicked his tongue over the damn request. “Enough about that, we’ve got better things to worry about.”

“Oh? Like what?” Hange paused for another disgusting slurp of coffee, and it was just then that Petra and Mikasa returned to the kitchen.

“Good morning! Wow, Levi, you look good. The fresh air must be agreeing with you.” Petra smiled at him as she brushed aside the hair falling onto her face, her amber eyes bright and cheeks flushed.

“Oh, it’s not the air that’s making him all dewy,” Hange mumbled as she smirked at her mug.

“Shut it,” Levi snapped before reaching for a clean mug – only to come to a halt as Mikasa got in his way. “Yes?”

Her mouth pressed into a flat line as she leaned in way too fucking close. “You feel a lot like Eren today.”

“I’m sure he *felt* Eren a lot, oh yeah.” Hange held her hands up in the air and cackled when Levi, Mikasa and Armin took to glaring at her for the commentary. “Just saying.”

“Don’t,” Mikasa snapped before she returned her attention back to Levi. “And you, why is your magic – why am I feeling so much of Eren’s magic with yours?” She held out her right hand to within an inch or two of Levi’s chest.

“Hmm, yeah, that might be what’s different about him,” Hange remarked, sounding serious for once that morning. “That and he doesn’t look like fresh roadkill, per normal.”

“Fuck you,” Levi told her while he slapped Mikasa’s hand aside. “And your brother is all over me – don’t go there, you shitty glasses – so not surprised if I ‘feel’ a bit like him. He even gave me all that magic yesterday.” Had anyone commented on it then? Too much shit was going on lately.

Armin set aside his glass of orange juice and came to stand beside Mikasa. “True, but I don’t remember you feeling like this last night.” He frowned as he studied Levi as well. “Plus, I thought you used up some of the magic he gave you.”

“Unless they were doing something rather naughty up there just now,” Hange added. “You know how hot and heavy the magic gets when they’re going at it.” Despite Levi’s resolve, something must have shown on his face just then, probably annoyance, because Hange took to grinning as she clapped. “And we have a winner! What happened? Did something happen?”

“Fuck all of you, I’m going back to bed.” Okay, tea could wait until later, maybe lunchtime or something. Levi went to leave, only for Mikasa to grab his arm.

“No, what’s going on with you and Eren? Did something happen?” Her fingers dug into his upper arm as her voice grew louder. “What’s going on with my brother?”

“Nothing, he’s upstairs sleeping, the lucky bastard, not down here with people prying into his shit.” Levi jerked his arm free as he glared at the girl.

For a moment she stared at him, and the next she was a blur, charging past him and out of the kitchen. At first confused by her sudden actions, it then sunk in where she was going. “Fuck!” He reached out for the nearest spirits to stop her, only to find that she’d already summoned them to her; he could wrest them away from her, but that would take too much time and energy, not to mention it might set off the wards if a fight broke out inside the lodge. “Shit!”

Chasing after her, he gritted his teeth together when he heard the others follow along, Hange laughing the entire way. “Just butt out,” he ordered as he took the steps two at a time.

“Nope, not when something is going on. This is too much fun.”

“Your friend is a fucking mother-hen!” he spat at Armin.

“Yes, and you’re hiding something.”

Levi didn’t bother answering that since it was both true and they’d reached the bedroom; Mikasa hadn’t bothered to ward the door since she either didn’t have the time or hadn’t wanted to set off the newly installed defenses, either. Bursting into the room, Levi found her bent over the bed with her hand on Eren’s face as he slept.

“Eren? Come on, wake up.”

Eren’s brow furrowed a little but all he did was nestle further beneath the covers.

“Leave him alone, I told you he was sleeping,” Levi demanded as he began to summon one of the spirits he had stationed farther away from the lodge. Mikasa looked up from Eren, her face set in an impassive scowl, and threw her hands out as if casting a spell.

Surprised that she was going to risk setting off the wards, Levi scrambled to set up some sort of defense in time, yet the next thing he knew, Eren was sitting up in bed, his eyes glowing an intense gold and his hand on Mikasa’s arm as she cried out. There was a faint sense of her magic beneath the wild pulse of his, a sense that faded with each passing second and as she crumbled onto the bed.

“Mikasa! Eren, stop it!” Armin leapt forward to the bed, and hearing him cry out jerked Levi out of his stupor.

“Brat! What the fuck are you doing?” He allowed Armin to grab onto a barely conscious Mikasa while he half-fell onto the bed in an effort to latch on to Eren’s arm. “Wha-“ There was a strong jolt, similar to the sting of electricity, when his hand touched Eren’s arm, and then Eren’s long eyelashes fluttered like the rapid beating of wings. “You in there?”

“Levi?” The familiar turquoise hue bled back into Eren’s eyes as he stared up at Levi. “What? Why are-“ He hissed as he pressed the palm of his free hand against his forehead. “Ow.” He started to hunch forward and then noticed some of what was going on around him. “M-mikasa? Mikasa! What’s wrong?” Levi had to push him back onto the bed when he made to get out of it, especially since he was still naked.

“That’s a good question.” Armin helped Mikasa to sit on the edge of the bed; the girl appeared to be ready to pass out at any moment. “What happened? Was it a spell?”

“No, I think it’s the opposite, right?” Hange came forward to crouch in front of the girl. “Got any magic left?” She smiled at Levi when he started at the question.

Mikasa made as if to shake her head and nearly toppled over. “No. Feel… feel empty.” She fumbled about with her right hand until it rested in her lap and stared at it. “Drained.”

Behind her, Eren made a low, moaning sound. “Mikasa… I’m sorry.” His right hand still restrained by Levi, he made to reach out to her with his left before he jerked it away as if afraid of touching her. “I… I…” Levi felt his magic flare and let go so he could give him a gentle smack to the back of the head.

“Don’t – you’ve no fucking clue what you’re doing so don’t blame yourself, okay?”

“But I took my sister’s magic!” Eren made to get out of the bed until he seemed to remember that he was naked, his face flushed with guilt and embarrassment as he clutched the blankets to his chest.

“’m fine,” Mikasa tried to assure him. “Just tired.”

“If it’s anything like with those tendrils of yours, you probably took whatever magic she had inside of her – it should be a temporary thing,” Armin assured him while Levi stood watch to make sure that Eren didn’t do anything rash. “It looks like you’ve moved on from needing some sort of medium to taking magic directly.”

“Yeah, it would be nice if he could pass on some to others like he does with Levi.” Hange rose up to stand beside the bed, her arms folded across her chest. “Armin, why don’t you help Mikasa to her room, I think what she needs the most right now is some rest and she’ll be better in a few hours.”

Armin nodded as he helped Mikasa stand up. “I should have a potion that might speed things up, too. We used it a time or two in the past when we were wore out.” Judging from the grimace on both Mikasa and Eren’s face, it wasn’t one of his better tasting ones. The two slowly made their way to the door, where Petra was hovering by.

“So, uhm, Eren drains magic?” she asked as she stepped inside.

“That seems to be one of his special abilities, yes.” Hange rolled her eyes when Levi motioned for her to get away from the bed. “Before he would magic up these plant tentacles that would suck up whatever spells were cast around them, but now he appears to be moving away from that. You want to tell me what happened this morning?” She directed that question toward Levi.

“What makes you think something happened?” He gave Eren a warning look before he moved away from the bed to fetch the brat a clean pair of boxers and a long-sleeved t-shirt; Eren snatched at them and slid the clothes under the blankets to put them on.

Hange scoffed as she adjusted her glasses. “We’ve known each other for how long? Something happened this morning so ‘fess up.”

“Uhm, you were really smug after….” Eren’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment before he tugged on the shirt. “And I know I felt something draining during, uhm, yeah.” He hung his head forward so his sleep-tousled hair covered his face.

Levi gritted his teeth as his boyfriend sold him out. “All right, fine, so I was thinking that I didn’t want Eren to get into any shit today, that it would be better if he just kept his ass in bed.” At Eren’s indignant look, Levi narrowed his eyes and jabbed a finger in his direction. “You were ready to go off fighting, don’t give me any shit!”

“So you what…, I don’t even know?” Eren jerked his right hand through his hair. “Took more of my magic?”

“He can do that?” Petra blinked as she looked from Levi to Eren to Hange. “Really? Just take it directly?”

Hange chewed on her left thumbnail as she seemed to consider the situation. “Eren’s a shifter, and formed some sort of emphatic link with Levi.”

“With an asshole!” Eren shouted as he pushed back the covers and knelt on the bed, his magic flaring as he glared at Levi.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Levi glared right back as he grabbed hold of his lover’s shirt. “I didn’t do it on purpose! I just… just thought it and it happened!”

“And you were happy about it!”

“Yeah, because I had some great sex and you were too tired to cause me any grief!” he admitted. “Should have known it wouldn’t last for long!”

Eren’s hands shifted into something out of a nightmare yet all they did was wrap around Levi’s, the talons careful to not tear into his flesh. “Well, that’ll be the last of the ‘great sex’ you’ll be getting!” Eren’s lovely face was once more flushed, this time with anger, and the feel of his magic was almost intoxicating. He pushed forward until he was in Levi’s face, and Levi wanted so badly to kiss him just then.

“Uhm, am I going to get back my bet money?”

“Fuck no,” Levi snarled as he gave his boyfriend a shake. “Don’t blame me because you don’t have control over your shitty talent!”

“I don’t – you’re blaming this on *me*? I should rip your-“

“Actually, it is your fault, Eren.”

Hange’s amused voice cut off Eren’s enraged rant and made him gape in surprise, his hands shifting back to normal as he slumped against Levi. “Huh?”

Forcing himself to look away from his boyfriend, Levi noticed that they must have woken Gunther and Erd, as well as Armin had returned. Hange grinned as she sat down at the end of the bed. “Eren, part of what makes everyone come after you is the ability of yours to figure out what people want and give it to them – usually under ‘special’ conditions.” She used her fingers to provide air quotes around the word ‘special’ while she leered at Levi. “However, for some reason, perhaps that whole ‘complementary’ thing Erwin talked about, you’ve… well, ‘locked’ onto Levi. The emphatic bond appears to be permanent between the two of you.” Her grin faded as her expression grew serious.

“Add to that the fact that both of you seem to enjoy each other’s magic, and are somewhat responsive to each other’s. Then that Eren is able to absorb other people’s magic and pass that on to Levi. I think we’re getting to the basic heart of the ‘key’ right here.” There were some confused looks from Petra, Gunther and Erd over mention of ‘key’.

Levi wrapped an arm around Eren’s shoulder, the sense of his lover’s magic calming as Hange spoke. “Yeah, it’s still not making any sense.”

Armin shook his head as he threaded his fingers together. “No, it does, really. What defines a mage is being able to generate magic and cast spells – each mage has their own area of magic, usually some sort of element except for those with supernatural bloodlines, such as Levi, Mikasa and Erwin. Still, the magic is inherent in them, is internally generated, and their ability is based on that inherent talent – their genes and their strength. Each of us has a preset limit of strength and while we can train to reach that limit, we can never exceed what is inside of us or become what we’re not. I’ll never be a necromancer or a were, and Mikasa can never become an air mage or a shifter.”

Hange nodded. “Yes, for as much as I can read a bloodline, I can’t alter or add what’s not there. I can’t make someone something they’re not.”

“Exactly. And once we use up the magic within us, we have to wait until we recharge to cast more spells.” Armin held up a potion in his right hand. “Well, more or less. I can use potions to speed up the process, and there are various charms and magical items one can create to help store energy, but those take magic to create in the first place. Part of the reason people fear necromancers is that they can obtain some energy from a person’s death, right? You’re one of the rare exceptions.”

Levi nodded. “Yeah, and Ackermans are the best at processing that energy.” Then he glanced at Eren. “Though you said you can get some energy from the earth, right?”

“Yes, that or if there’s enough trees and stuff around me.” He bit into his bottom lip for a moment. “So what, as a key I absorb magic?”

Both Hange and Armin nodded. “I think you can absorb *any* magic, judging from what happened just now,” Hange explained. “As you learn to develop the talent, it’ll probably expand – those tendrils drained it as spells were being cast, so I don’t think it’s out of the question for you to drain it from people around you, not just whoever you’re touching. And more importantly, you can pass it on – at least to one person.” She stared hard at Levi. “Think about it. Eren taking in all of that magic, weakening the mages and were around him… and *you* being the one with the access to it, the ability to cast it back out.”

“The ultimate weapon… and the ultimate power source,” Armin added, his blue eyes shadowed and a grim twist to his mouth as he focused his attention on Eren. “Even better than a shapeshifting assassin. He will make whomever… well, ‘bonds’ with him for the lack of a better word, the most powerful magic user around.”

Eren’s magic fluctuated so wildly that it made Levi’s teeth ache; he ran his hand up and down his lover’s back in an effort to soothe. “I’m *right* here,” Eren snapped, his voice pitched high with anger and stress. “I’m not a… a fucking *thing*!” he snarled, sounding so feral that Levi’s fingers clutched at his shirt to hold him back in case he lunged forward or something.

“Brat… Eren, they’re not saying you are. They’re talking about how others will see you.” Levi’s fingers unclenched and slid up into Eren’s hair. “Calm down.”

Eren turned toward him, his eyes a mix of turquoise and gold. “I’m not a thing! I’m not something to be… to be hunted down and used!” He made as if to lash out at Levi but stopped, his breath hitching as he rested his forehead against Levi’s shoulder. “Not a thing.”

“No, you’re a troublesome brat,” Levi murmured as he continued to rub his fingers in his lover’s hair. “One I’m stuck with, it seems.”

“You may be more right about that than you know.” Hange leaned toward them and made as if to touch Eren, but backed off after a warning glare from Levi. “This side of Eren is escalating all of a sudden, and you were able to reverse the flow of magic. That has to mean something – that and why those other shifters have shown up *now*. Maybe Eren isn’t meant to be a ‘key’ to just anybody.”

“Yes, he never showed these tendencies with either me or Mikasa.” Armin ignored Levi’s nasty look to sit near Eren and pat him on the shoulder. “I think this is happening now because you’re with Levi, because something in you, that special nature that makes you a key, chose him.”

Eren sniffed as he pulled away a little. “So it *is* his fault.”

“You little shit,” Levi grumbled, but he was relieved to see a hint of a smile on his lover’s face. “It’s because I’m ‘great’, don’t you know.” Eren’s magic settled a little more when Eren rolled his eyes.

“You’re something all right.” Eren gave Armin a hopeful smile. “So Mikasa’s okay?”

“She’ll be fine after she gets some rest.” Armin showed no hesitation as he gave Eren a quick hug. “I really think Hange and I are right about this stuff – you’re coming into your true nature now that you’re with Levi, and it’s probably why you’re, uhm, stuck like you are.” He smiled a little as he patted Eren on the head. “Things are going to happen until you learn to control it, and ideally you would have the time to figure it out.” Armin grimaced as he leaned back. “Unfortunately, you’re under a lot of stress because of the situation and so your talent is reacting in an offensive manner – you and Levi have to be careful because of that.”

“Yeah, Grumpy.” Hange reached out with her left food to nudge him in the leg. “Remember the link, because if you keep draining Eren dry, he’ll react and drain the rest of us dry.”

“Whoa, wait, what did we miss here?” Gunther ran his hand over his close-cut dark hair as he stared in shock at Eren, which caused Eren to sidle closer to Levi. “He’s draining us dry?”

“Not on purpose, and not unless *I* fuck up first.” Levi gave the earth mage a warning look as he placed a hand on the back of Eren’s neck. Gunther paled and looked away first, then winced when Petra stomped on his foot.

“Hmm, you know, we could probably confirm one or two things if you give me some blood.” Hange batted her eyes as she reached into the pouch on her belt with her left hand while she held out her right. “Like you promised me you would do.”

She was like a shitty broken record – Levi narrowed his eyes and was about to tell her to ‘fuck off’ when Eren sighed and held out his right hand. “If it’ll help figure this stuff out.” He glanced up at Levi. “I want answers, especially if I’m doing things like hurting my friends.”

“Fine.” Levi wiped at his face while Armin got out of the way; Eren went first, jaw set since he knew what to expect this time when Hange stabbed deep. It only took a second or two before he healed while Hange sucked up the blood, an intent look on her face.

“Oooh yeah, something’s changed here.” She frowned as her right hand flicked about in the air. “I still don’t have a clue *what* all this stuff means, but yep, one or two minor tweaks. It’s as if something got activated and – ouch! Dammit, still not very friendly.” She scowled at the air for a few seconds before she sighed, and then took to smiling again. “All right, Grumps, your turn!”

“Oh, joy.” Levi schooled his face into a bland expression as he held out his right hand, and waited for Hange to prep the finger for the jab. He didn’t flinch at the pain… but his eyes widened when a few drops of blood welled up and then the bleeding stopped since the wound had already healed.

Hange stared in stunned silence at his finger and then crowed. “Oh yeah, I’d say there’s been a few changes!” She used a pipelet to suck up the blood then raised it to her mouth, her eyes flaring red when the drops hit her tongue. “Oh, *wow*. Wow!” She blinked her glowing eyes at Levi. “I don’t know if I should say ‘congratulations’ or ‘you’re so fucked’ right now.”

“What?” Eren’s magic spiked as he leaned forward as if to shield Levi. “What’s wrong? Is it bad?”

Hange shook her head as her eyes went to normal. “Not really, nothing nasty,” she assured Eren. “Just that yeah, I think Armin’s right about that whole ‘bonded’ thing.” She pushed up her glasses as she regarded Levi. “If those bastards were hoping to get to Eren so they could use him for themselves, you’ve royally fucked up their plan. From what I’m seeing… those are matching changes. I think if someone else wants Eren to do for them what he’s doing for you… well, one part of the equation needs to be removed.” She then pressed her lips together as if to keep from saying anything else.

In other words, once those shifters or anyone else after Eren because he was a key figured out that Levi was ‘enjoying’ the benefits of Eren’s nature, Levi had a true death sentence on his head – with extreme prejudice. And, if he was reading Hange’s silence right, that was *if* the bond could even be broken.

The room was quiet for several seconds before Eren spoke up. “Wait, so I did that to him? I made it so-“

“Stop.” Levi grasped a handful of Eren’s hair and gave it a sharp tug to get the idiot to shut up before he went on about some stupid, guilt-inspired shit. “Whatever happened, it was the *both* of us, okay? I dragged you out of Karanese, I made-“ he noticed Hange hanging on his every word and grunted. “We’re equal on this,” he insisted. “Try to say otherwise and I’ll smack you so hard you forget your own name.”

At first Eren looked stubborn enough to argue, and then he offered Levi a hesitant smile. “Okay.”

“Good.” Levi loosened his hold on his lover’s hair and clicked his tongue. “Now if you’re up, I could use some breakfast. Too much fucking drama this morning and I haven’t even had some tea.” He glared at Hange as if she was to blame, which in a way she was.

“All right. Though I have to take care of the bed first.” A slight flush suffused Eren’s cheeks as he tugged at the rumpled sheets.

Levi sighed as he got up from the bed. “Go make breakfast while I handle this.”

“Aw, you two are so cute together,” Hange cooed as she got up from the bed as well, and laughed in the face of Levi’s glower. “Hmm, breakfast, yummy.”

“I’ll help,” Armin offered. “While we’re at it, we can talk about some sort of practice when we’re done. See if we can’t figure out a way to train your new talent.”

Eren groaned as he got out of bed and went to fetch a pair of jeans. “Yay, that sounds like so much fun.”

Armin laughed as he herded Petra, Gunther and Erd out of the room. “It’s better than the ‘kick Eren’s ass’ sessions right?” He laughed some more at Eren’s irate look.

Meanwhile, Petra was teasing Erd about his lost money. “You know you’re never going to get it back now, right?”

“Dammit, I was planning on buying a new leather jacket with that money,” he complained as they headed downstairs.

Levi debated sending a poltergeist after the bastard – he was still pissed off about the bets against him – but settled for stripping the bed. He’d get the sheets and a couple of other things in the wash before breakfast. Once everything was all bundled up, he headed for the door, and found Eren there waiting for him.

“Uhm, you don’t really mind, do you?” Eren fiddled with the hem of the dark grey shirt as he glanced up at Levi through his long eyelashes, his magic in flux. “I mean-“

Shoving the dirty laundry into his left arm, Levi grasped Eren’s chin with his right hand and tilted it up for a kiss, one that should leave no doubt in the brat’s mind about how Levi felt about the whole situation. When Eren’s magic was flaring for an entirely different reason and his hands clung to Levi’s shoulder, Levi pulled away with a slight smirk. “That’s another topic added to the ‘do not talk about or you’ll get your ass kicked’ list, all right?”

Eren huffed as he sunk back onto the heels of his feet. “Fine.” He seemed to pout a little as he fell in step beside Levi. “Is that how you’re going to settle everything, tell me to ‘shut up about it or I’ll kick your ass’?”

Levi arched an eyebrow as they reached the steps. “Guess you’ll just have to stick around long enough to find out.”

His lover was quiet after that, but the warm, heady rush of magic that washed over Levi was answer enough.

*******

“Dammit!”

Reiner didn’t flinch as the coffee mug flew within a few inches of his head to smash into the wall behind him; sadly, temper tantrums like these were becoming all too familiar in the last couple of days.

“He’s not so smart! He’s not!” Hitch insisted as she clutched at the glamour bag. “I’ll use a kid if I have to and break through whatever ward he put up then laugh in his face! Just you see!” Muttering under her breath about cocky Ackermans, she stormed out of the kitchen with a decided flounce to her step.

Bert made to go after her, at least until Annie held out a hand. “Don’t… just don’t.” Annie closed her eyes as she shook her head. “Don’t waste your time.”

Bert gave her an unhappy look before he changed direction and went to clean up the mess Hitch had made, pausing to meet Reiner’s eyes along the way and become even unhappier; Reiner didn’t know what his lover wanted – they needed a necromancer who could produce results, and had gambled on Hitch. Figured that Eren would find one of the two remaining Ackermans out there….

Well, maybe it shouldn’t have come as such a surprise, considering what Eren was and how anything with power was drawn to them. Their nature made it easy to win Hitch over and put her to work, it was just a shame that they hadn’t come across this Levi fellow before Eren had – or better yet, had managed to track down his uncle, Kenny.

Thought of that maniac made Reiner push away from the table and lean down toward his lover. “Be careful with that,” he warned, even though they could heal from the cuts.

Bert looked up from where he was collecting the shards of the mug and smiled, appearing happy once more. “I am – it’s better than that time when she started throwing the dishes.”

“We really need to get someone less high-maintenance,” Reiner started to complain. “Someone-“ Before he could finish that thought, his phone started to ring.

A feeling of dread filled his chest as he snatched it off of the table and sank down in the chair, the memory of last night’s conversation coming back to him. Bert’s face drained of color while Annie was quick to move to the doorway leading out of the kitchen to ensure that Hitch didn’t return or try to eavesdrop, so Reiner took a deep breath before he accepted the call; why was he always stuck taking the call? “Hello sir?”

Their leader’s deep, deceptively mild voice came through the phone nice and clear. “Hello, Reiner, good morning. How are you today?”

Did anyone else think it was a bit creepy when he was all civil like this? Reiner swallowed past a throat gone tight and nodded his head, before he remembered that they were speaking over a phone. “I’m all right sir, and you?”

“I can’t complain too much, the weather is a bit cold for this time of year but otherwise nice.” He paused for a moment and then some of the pleasantness slipped from his voice. “How are things going on your end? Do you have the location?”

Reiner wiped at the sweat beading on his forehead. “Ah, sir, about that… we attempted to narrow it down last night as I told you, and… well, all we got was a general location.” He flinched as if he could imagine the man’s eyes narrowing at him as he spoke. “Our necromancer – she said that some sort of ward went up right after she cast the spell and it’s blocking her. She’s doing everything she can to break past it.”

There was silence on the other end of the line, an utter silence during which Reiner could feel the sweat form on his body and roll down his face, his back and his sides, could feel the overwhelming urge to shift into either something so huge he would break through the ceiling of the farmhouse or so small he could run away and hide…. He nearly cried out when the commander next spoke.

“So this other necromancer, this *Ackerman*, he threw up a ward, yes?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And this is after Eren managed to cast a spell where he drained magic, where he could break through your physical wards?”

Reiner almost shuddered as he thought about those nightmarish tentacles. “Yes, sir,” he repeated.

“Then you will do whatever is necessary to narrow down his location and find him, and before you bring him back, you will *kill* Ackerman, do you understand?” There was a rare bite to Commander Jaeger’s words just then. “Kill Ackerman and bring me Eren.”

“Yes, sir.” Reiner didn’t care to know why the short necromancer had earned such a death sentence, he just wanted to go home. “It’ll be done.”

“It better be. Because you know why it’s so important, returning Eren to the fold. What it means if *they* get their hands on him.” The leader’s voice had slipped into that false, soothing tone once more. “How they can use him to tear through our defenses, how no one will be safe. *No one*. So he needs to be with us, with his own kind.”

“I know.” It had been so terrifying, those tendrils breaking through his ward and weakening him. Reiner could only imagine that happening to Bert, to his lover being robbed of all of his defenses and unable to shift and- “We’ll do it, we’ll bring him home. We’ll get him away from these people.” The people who would use Eren to destroy his own kind.

“I have every faith in you. Just remember, kill Ackerman before you return.” Those were the last words spoken before the line went dead.

Reiner held on to his phone for several seconds before he lowered it and placed it back on the table, then let out a slow breath. When he looked up from it, he met Annie and Bert’s expectant gazes. “We have to make sure that Ackerman’s dead before we return with Eren.”

Bert frowned while Annie continued to stare at him with a blank gaze. “That won’t be much of a problem if Hitch has her way, but kind of an odd request,” she commented as she tucked her hands into the pockets of her light grey hoodie. “We’ve been left to our own discretion before now.”

“We haven’t come across someone as powerful as him before now,” Reiner pointed out. “Maybe *he* doesn’t want any loose ends.”

“Maybe.” Annie didn’t appear convinced, but then again, she always had been a stubborn one. “Maybe there’s something more to it.” Then her shoulders slumped forward. “But whatever, we’re to follow orders and then get back home.”

“Exactly.” And if that meant taking out a powerful necromancer who had done his best to kill Bert, then Reiner would just add it to the list. “Come on, we have a general direction, let’s head out and see if we can’t narrow things down a little.”

Annie’s eyes narrowed as if she was contemplating something while she tugged the hoodie lower. “I’ll go get the princess.” Yeah, that ‘something’ was probably throttling Hitch, but they needed the necromancer for a little longer.

Bert went over to the sink to wash off his hands. “You think it’ll be easy to track Eren down with just a general direction?”

“No,” Reiner admitted to his boyfriend as he rose from the table and slid his phone into his jean’s front right pocket. “But I think Hitch is pissed off and determined to prove that she’s as good as an Ackerman, so that’ll help, and we can always track down another of his or that blood witch’s friends to get more information if the trail goes cold.” It hadn’t been pretty, what they’d done to the poor were, but it had been necessary. They’d do it again and again, until they had Eren; as Reiner had been reminded, there was too much danger in letting Eren run around out here, away from home. “We’ll bring Eren back where he belongs.”

“Yeah, I just hope he realizes that we’re doing what’s best for him,” Bert agreed as he dried his hands and came over to Reiner’s side. “Poor kid, what was his father thinking, to abandon him out here?”

That was the burning question, wasn’t it? One that would have to wait until they got Eren back home, and Reiner hoped some other unlucky souls were picked to be sent out to track down Grisha Jaeger because he was done with being out here, done with killing people and sneaking around and… just done. All he wanted was to go home.

*******

Eren flinched as Hange lobbed another spell at him; he had a feeling that if it wasn’t for his crystal armor that he’d have been inflicted with something rather nasty just then. “I don’t think this is working!” For the past twenty minutes, he’d stood there while everyone but Levi and Mikasa, who was still sleeping, had cast various spells at him.

“Are you even trying?” Armin chided as he held up a potion in his right hand. “We’re doing this for your benefit.”

Yeah, like some of them didn’t find it remotely fun to fire off those spells, Eren thought as he rubbed his hands over the crystal armor that covered his body. “Yes, I am!” He huffed as he wondered how much longer the armor would hold up under the onslaught. “There was a time or two when I think my magic almost created those tendrils again, but I’ve been trying to keep it more contained.”

Levi scoffed from over by the tree he was leaning against. “Maybe one of you needs to get closer to him, he might not be ready for long-ranged attacks yet.”

“Or maybe *you* need to get closer,” Hange insisted as she motioned with her hands. “He always reacts best when you’re in danger.”

Levi made a rude gesture in her direction. “Yeah, right, I’m fine where I am.”

“So be it.” Hange’s grin widened just as her eyes began to glow, and Eren’s stomach churned as he felt Levi’s surprise right as her magic flared. There was the answering burn of Levi’s as the air shimmered around him, but something twisted inside of Eren at the thought of Levi being harmed, something made him shout and the next thing he knew there was that potent rush pouring into him as Hange gasped and, and-

No. *No*. He shouted again as he dropped to his knees, his fingers tugging at his hair as he refused to accept any more of Hange’s magic, the ward around him breaking apart and steaming away as his concentration shattered. As if from far away he heard shouting, and then there was the comforting feel of Levi’s magic, of concern and chagrin and even a little amusement as cool hands cupped his face.

“Damn, I wish I had that on video.”

“Ha! You’re such a bastard!”

Hange sounded a bit weak but still cheerful, so Eren found the courage to look up at Levi’s slightly smiling face. “Re-really?”

“Yeah, that’s the fastest I’ve seen her drop other than that one time Erwin tranq’ed her when she was up for three nights straight after finding some rare strain of some weird disease.” Levi’s thumb brushed along Eren’s right cheekbone. “You all right?”

Eren considered the question as he leaned forward to slump against his lover. “Just… it came on so fast. I don’t like how I’ve no warning on when I’m going to do it.”

“Hmm.” Levi gave Eren’s face one more caress before sliding his hands along to the nape of his neck and urging him to stand up; Eren wavered for a moment as he felt a little lightheaded from the rush of magic, though it wasn’t as bad as previous times. “But you stopped it, right? The pain in the ass isn’t as bad as Mikasa.”

“Yeah, I’m *fine*, thank you for asking,” Hange shouted. With some help from Armin and Petra, she came over to join them. “Feels like you might have got about half my magic there – good job.”

Eren shuddered at the thought of him draining another friend’s magic – and then whined when his left ear was flicked. “Don’t,” Levi warned. “The purpose of all this shit is for you to learn, and you’re doing that.”

“Though who would have thought that you, sir, would have your own defender!” Petra laughed as she took a cautious step away from Hange, who seemed able to stand on her own. “It’s very sweet.”

Levi grimaced at the comment, even if Eren noticed that Gunther and Erd no longer eyed him with as much caution as they had been during breakfast. “It’s more the other way around, I have to keep an eye out on *him*,” Levi insisted.

Armin laughed as well as he fiddled with something inside of his leather bag. “I don’t know, Eren’s always been big on defending those he cares about.” He offered Eren a sheepish grin. “Back when he was bigger than me, him and Mikasa always stood up for me.”

That prompted some fond memories in Eren. “Yeah, until you found that old alchemist book of your parents and made those bullies break into a nasty rash if they got so much within ten feet of you.”

“Hmm, well, hard to punch me if they’re scratching themselves bloody, yes?” There was a beautiful smile on Armin’s face just then. “Funny how no one ever figured out just what was causing the allergy, no matter how many tests those poor kids went through, all those needles and jabs and cutting out things in their diet….”

A weak grin spread across Hange’s face. “Oh, you are *evil*. I knew I liked you.”

“It was worth the lecture I got from my grandfather over using magic on normals.” Armin handed Hange one of his potions and then grinned in obvious delight in giving Eren one, too. “Come on, I can tell you’re still working on absorbing the magic.”

“It’s getting better,” Eren insisted, then took the glass vial with an aggrieved sigh when he felt Levi’s determination. “You guys are being the bullies now.”

“Yes, yes, we’re so mean to you,” Armin agreed while he watched Eren chug the contents down as quickly as possible. “I even added the mint this time.”

It was all Eren could do to not throw up once he swallowed the potion. “Do na-, gah, don’t bother next time.” He scraped his teeth over his tongue as he shook his head. “Gah, maybe I can shift into something that doesn’t have any taste buds.”

“Drama queen,” Levi sneered as he snatched away the empty vial. “Now try to send some of that energy to me – just a little.” At Eren’s incredulous look, he narrowed his eyes and held out his ungloved right hand. “We need to work on *all* of your control.”

Maybe it was better when he was fighting a horde of the undead, Eren reconsidered as he eyed Levi’s hand with some trepidation. What if he messed this up? What if he ended up draining his boyfriend instead of sending magic? What if some new, terrible thing occu- “Ow!” He glared at the bastard as he rubbed at his left ear.

“Stop overthinking things and just do it,” Levi ordered, his grey eyes narrowed and a surly look on his handsome face.

“Why did I pick *you*,” Eren muttered as he tugged off his right glove. “How many people out there and I pick *you*.”

“Because despite your brain not being in use half the time, you do have something in that asinine head of yours,” Levi informed him as they clasped hands.

“I’m not silly.” Eren glared and clenched his fingers around Levi’s larger and more calloused hand.

“Then prove it.” Levi didn’t seem that impressed at the moment, even if his emotions were more amused than not.

Half-tempted to drain the bastard to prove a point, Eren bared his teeth before he closed his eyes and focused; it took a few seconds to push the anger aside, and then he had to take a couple of deep breaths to help calm down. Send Levi the magic, he told himself. Just a little of it. He tried to recall how he’d done it the previous times, when he’d been so worried, and realized that part of it had been fear – fear of Levi being hurt, of Levi having to fight again, of reacting to Levi’s anger and distress. There wasn’t any fear right now, other than fear of him hurting his lover at some point. So he tried to make it work on want, on need, and felt a faint stirring inside of him.

Snatching on that stirring, he willed it to work, to spin out a little of the magic. At first it was sluggish, and then he felt a slight draining as… as ‘something’ flowed between him and Levi. So pleased with himself over making it work, he didn’t pay any attention until the world heaved around him and he snapped his eyes open to find himself about two feet away from Levi.

“Dammit, that’s enough!” Levi held his hand up as if to bar Eren from touching him, a hint of color on his pale cheeks. “You weren’t stopping.”

“Oh.” Eren rubbed his hands on his jean-clad thighs. “Sorry, I was concentrating.” Feeling just a little drained, he shook his head. “It was working, right?”

The question earned him an indecipherable look from Levi, whose emotions felt a bit incredulous at the moment. “Yeah, it was fucking working.” He glanced down at his right hand and shook his head. “Should be charged up enough right now to raise a literal army.”

“Uhm, good?” Eren smiled in the face of Levi’s blank stare. “Just as long as you don’t sic them on me.” He took a cautious step toward his boyfriend and then another when Levi merely clicked his tongue. “Are we done?”

Hange finished whatever notes she was writing down and gave him a studious look before nodding. “We should see if Levi’s gained the ability to cast magic outside of his necromancer bloodline, but considering the peek I took at his blood, yeah, I think we can save confirming that for another day – maybe when Erwin’s here to be a convenient target.” She grinned as she reached out to pat a confused Levi on the shoulder, then turned her attention back on Eren. “We also really should see if you can pass that magic on to someone else, but I think that’s enough for one day.” She waved her pen at a now scowling Levi’s direction. “Besides, we’ll probably have to find someone to distract your honeybunch over there while we do that.”

“What the hell did I say about those awful nicknames?” Levi insisted as he draped an arm over Eren’s shoulders.

“That I couldn’t use ‘snuggle-bunny’, which I’m not.” Hange laughed as Levi’s scowl increased in potency. “Aw come on, you got some ‘great sex’ this morning and are all juiced up, cheer up for once!”

Levi was quiet for a few seconds as he began to shove Eren toward the house. “Brat… next time, drain her dry.”

“You really are mean!” Hange insisted as she fell in step beside them. “Don’t listen to the old grouch, Eren-honey. You’re too young to be that jaded.”

Eren was beginning to miss the times when he was too out of it after ‘draining’ magic, to be honest. “Ah, don’t you guys have wards to play with or something?”

“In other words, Eren doesn’t like to be picked over as the center of a fight, he’s a bit shy like that.” Armin ignored Levi’s dirty look as he shrugged out of his coat. “What, I’m helping you out here.”

“I don’t need any assistance,” Levi insisted as he nearly yanked Eren’s left arm off by ‘helping’ him with his coat.

While Hange did a poor job of muffling her guffaw upon hearing that comment, Gunther took to coughing into his gloved hand and Petra bit into her bottom lip as if to prevent herself from saying anything. It was Erd who swallowed as if suffering a throat gone dry and dared to speak first. “Ah, sir, you do realize there’s a reason most of us bet against you, right?”

In the process of removing his own coat, Levi paused to give Erd a flat look while a bead of sweat ran down the poor man’s face. “Eren, finish the laundry and start lunch while we do a bit more training.”

Judging from the simmering anger Eren felt from his lover, it was a very good thing that Eren was being excluded from the ‘training’ session. “Sure. Take your time.” He reached over to aid Levi in zipping up his coat. “I’ll do my best to not drain anyone dry or develop any other freaky new talents while you’re kicking someone else’s ass. Which really, weird relationship issues, okay?”

That got a smile from the grouchy bastard. “Don’t worry, I’ll be thinking of you the entire time.”

“Such a romantic.” Eren rose up on his toes to give his lover a quick kiss.

“My point exactly.” Levi’s good mood lasted until he turned around to find Hange beaming at them. “I’m not going easy on you just because Eren leeched away your magic, you lunatic.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” she told him as she waved him toward the door. “So, what are we doing, everyone for themselves clusterfuck? Those are always fun.”

“Remember what Erwin said about not infecting anyone by accident,” Erd called out as they went for the door.

“Oh trust me, nothing will be by accident!”

Eren heard some loud groaning before the door slammed shut and exchanged a nervous grin with Armin. “You’re not joining them?”

His friend shook his head. “I think I’d rather check up on Mikasa and help you out. Plus, once lunch is prepared, we can work more on that special potion of mine, right?” Armin rubbed his hands together as he eyed Eren in a speculative manner. “I’m so close to figuring it out.”

“Great, I get to have stinky stuff lobbed at me by my supposed best friend.” Eren wrinkled his nose in anticipation of that fun test. “Go see how Mikasa’s doing while I do the laundry.”

Armin saluted as if accepting the order. “You know, you’re turning into a really good wife.” He laughed as he dodged the glove the Eren threw at him. “Just saying!”

“Why couldn’t you have stayed gone for another year or two?” Eren grumbled, but he was smiling as he headed for the laundry room past the kitchen. Now for Mikasa to wake up all right and with her magic restored, and the day would have turned around. He had just reached the kitchen when he felt a spike of smug satisfaction, and amended that thought to ‘for himself’. Obviously, the day wasn’t turning out too good for whomever it was Levi was pounding into the ground outside.

*******

Mikasa lay in bed for a minute or two before she realized what was wrong – there was daylight streaming into the room. It had been so long since she had slept during the day that it was disconcerting to lie there when it was so bright outside. She felt a bit guilty to remain in bed so she forced herself to get up, and was grateful to find out that her energy and magic had mostly returned while she slept. Once stable on her feet, she pulled on the cardigan that Armin must have removed before putting her to bed, grabbed her scarf and stepped into a pair of slippers before leaving the room.

There was some sort of ruckus outside, but since she recognized Hange’s braying laugh, she assumed that it wasn’t anything too serious and continued down the stairs toward the kitchen since she smelled something wonderful.

Upon entering the room, she found Armin sitting at the table busy grinding up some precious mineral and Eren at by the stove with Petra. Her brother looked over and smiled, his eyes bright and expression relieved. “Mikasa! Are you feeling better?”

“Hmm, nothing a nap couldn’t fix,” she assured him. “Is that ragout?”

“Yes, I figured one of Mom’s dishes might help.” A slight flush colored Eren’s cheeks as she came over to lean against him and ruffle his hair. “It always made you feel good in the past.”

Resting back against the counter near the stove, Petra smiled as if she found the scene before her adorable. “You two are really close, aren’t you? I wish I had a brother or sister.”

Armin laughed from his spot on the table. “You might want to clarify that, or you might not be as lucky as Eren.”

Mikasa buried her smile in the scarf while Eren tossed what looked to be a scrap of carrot peel at Armin’s head. “Don’t you mean as lucky as Mikasa?”

“Yeah, right, maybe you have been drinking too many potions lately.” Armin laughed some more and covered his head when Eren made a spitting sound and left stirring the pot on the stove to go over and rub at his shoulder-length blond hair.

Meanwhile, Petra giggled as she watched Armin twist about so he could tickle Eren, which caused him to swear and attempt to pull away. “Let me guess, this is what it’s like to have brothers?”

“Yes, they’re rather immature,” Mikasa agreed.

“Hey! That’s just Eren,” Armin argued as he managed to tickle Eren to the floor – at least until Eren shifted into a small, tortoise-coated cat and escaped into a pile of his clothes. “You know, I don’t think Levi’s going to appreciate you shifting back in front of an audience,” Armin observed when Eren poked his furry head out of neck of his grey sweater, which caused Eren to twitch his whiskers and pause.

Beside Mikasa, Petra stared in evident awe at Eren with her mouth agape. “He’s… cat?”

“He didn’t think that one through,” Mikasa admitted as she went over to pick him up, along with his clothes; Eren was docile and curled up in her arms. “I’m going to put you in the pantry, okay?”

Eren made a faint meowing sound and began to purr as she rubbed beneath his chin. Part of her wanted to hold on to him a little longer, but forced herself to set him on the floor along with his clothes once they reached the pantry. She closed the door and returned to the stove, where she stirred the finished ragout. “So everyone’s outside fighting?”

“Yes.” Petra gave her an odd look as she tucked aside the bangs falling onto her face. “I was out there for a while, then I came in to help Armin with his potion.”

“I needed an extra set of hands to render some of the belladonna,” he explained. “And you know how Eren has no patience for that.”

The door to the pantry opened to reveal Eren as he hopped out of it, still in the process of pulling on his socks, his hair disheveled and expression mulish. “I don’t see why you’re using a poison in a potion meant for *me*.”

Armin rolled his eyes as he continued to grind some pink stone to dust. “It’s only one part of the potion, and it’s not like it’ll kill you with that fancy healing ability.”

“Which I didn’t need to find out by drinking one day!”

“Well *I* didn’t tell you to drink that vial, did I?”

“You told me to grab the one on the left!”

“I meant *my* left!” Armin threw his hands up in the air as he glared at Eren. “You wasted a day’s effort!”

Petra took to laughing over the familiar squabbling, while Mikasa felt a peaceful warmth in her chest – she had missed this *so much*. “Oh my, they’re just like Gunther and Erd and-“ Petra bit her lip just then, her amusement fading as she closed her eyes.

Mikasa frowned, worried about the air mage, while Eren gave up on the bickering with Armin to come over beside her. “Is everything all right?”

Petra opened her eyes and gave them a weak smile. “It’s fine, just thinking of someone I lost recently.” She dabbed at the corner of her right eye with the edge of her light blue sweater. “There… well, there used to be four of us, and… he passed away a couple of months ago. Reiss… well, something happened.”

Mikasa wondered how close that ‘someone’ was to Petra but didn’t want to push, while beside her Eren shifted about on his feet as if uncomfortable; she also wondered if her brother was picking up anything from the pretty woman. “So, lunch is ready,” he offered, changing the topic to something a little safer. “You think they’re almost done killing each other?”

Petra’s smile became more certain while she glanced in the direction of the front of the lodge. “Well, I haven’t heard any screams in a while.”

“Yeah, but Levi’s awful smug right now.” Eren rubbed at his forehead with his left hand while he gave the ragout a quick stir. “Someone’s getting their ass kicked.”

Petra once more appeared amazed as she stared at Eren. “It’s so unbelievable, you feeling Levi’s emotions like that.”

Mikasa couldn’t help herself. “He needs it – how else are they going to figure anything out.” She ignored the hurt look her brother turned toward her and reached in the cupboard above the sink to pull out some bowls to begin to set the table.

Still, Petra shrugged as if unable to deny what she said. “I know Levi’s not the best person when it comes to expressing his emotions, but he’s a good man. He won’t let you down.”

“He better not.”

“Mikasa,” Eren sighed, his brows drawn in disapproval, only to even out when she gave in and nodded. “Thank you.” He was smiling as he reached into the oven to pull out a tray full of biscuits. “Ah, who wants to tell those four that lunch is ready?”

“I’ll do it.” Petra closed her eyes, and Mikasa felt a pulse of magic emanate from the woman while she poked at Armin.

“Come on, finish that later,” she told her friend.

“I guess.” He sulked a little at having to put off working on his potion until after lunch, but hurried to clear away the supplies and then help her set the table. They were just about done when the front door opened and voices called out.

“Is the food ready?” Hange sounded as cheerful as always, if a little tired.

“Yes!” Eren set the large pot of ragout on the table and then went back to fetch the baskets of biscuits before waiting for something. It didn’t take long for Hange and Levi to arrive, Hange with a huge grin on her face and Levi with a bland expression that sharpened when he spied Eren. “You done terrorizing everyone?”

“It’s not terrorizing, it’s sharpening their skillset,” Levi insisted as he stalked over to Eren and combed his fingers through Eren’s mussed hair. “Why do you look even more like a disaster than usual?”

Eren put up with the fussing while Hange pulled out the nearest chair and collapsed into it. “Gunther and Erd are washing off – odds are 50/50 if they make it back down here.” She wrinkled her nose at Levi, who was still playing with Eren’s hair. “You got out just in time, Petra – I think Gunther was about to cry at one point – especially when Levi managed a fire spell.”

“And you casting that typhoid spell had nothing to do with it, right?” Levi gave up on trying to get Eren’s hair to behave and skimmed his hands along Eren’s back for a few seconds before shaking his head and moving away so he could go wash up at the sink. Meanwhile, Eren sat down and began to ladle the ragout into several bowls – one of which ended up in front of Mikasa.

She smiled in appreciation, and again when Armin handed her a biscuit. “Thank you.”

“Glad to see you’re doing better,” Hange told her as she waited for Eren to hand her a bowl. “Oooh, someone’s breaking out the good stuff.”

Levi returned to the table with a bottle of wine in each hand. “I figured a little won’t hurt us, not after that work out.” He sat down next to Eren and pulled a corkscrew out of his pocket. “Where’s Gunther?”

Erd slicked back his wet hair as he walked into the kitchen. “From what I could make out through the bathroom door, I think he’s planning on seeing how big the hot water heater is.” He grinned at Levi, then winced as he sat down. “Any chance of passing on that healing factor, sir?”

“Not to shitty bastards who bet against me,” Levi taunted as he threw a cork at the water mage. There were several laughs over the comment, though Mikasa noticed a slight flush to her brother’s face at the joke; she reached under the table to give his hand a squeeze, which prompted a smile from him.

“We still need to see if Eren can do his magic mojo with anyone else,” Hange remarked as she held out her glass for some wine. “Or if it’s only reserved for grumpy bastards.” She grinned when Levi gave her the finger. “Aw, no wonder Eren fell for you with all that charm.”

Even Eren joined in with the laughter that time, at least until Levi did something to him from under the table. Then Eren yelped and turned to glare at him. “What?”

“Nothing, I’m being ‘charming’,” Levi replied as he took a bite of his meal, his expression perfectly blank.

“You….” Eren narrowed his eyes as he turned in his chair toward the necromancer. “Fine.” He stared into his bowl for a few seconds and then grinned, one Mikasa recognized from when her brother was pleased with himself and sat facing forward once more.

Levi continued to eat, but his left hand disappeared beneath the table once more, only this time, Eren continued to grin. After several seconds, Levi’s brows drew together and his lips pursed, and his hand came back up to the table.

Mikasa wasn’t the only one to notice the couple’s odd behavior; “So, what’s the plans for this afternoon?” Hange asked as she held her glass of wine up with both hands, a knowing grin on her face. “I think some people are going to cry if you say ‘more practice’.”

“At least if you don’t open up more wine first,” Erd muttered.

“I was going to give Mikasa a little more time to recover and then see if she wanted to work with the spirits a bit,” Levi offered, which surprised Mikasa. She considered it and how much her magic had returned before nodding, always willing to hone a talent that could be put to good use – especially after seeing how he had used it to fight the shifters.

“And I’m so close with that special potion. The last version weakened Eren’s ward but didn’t break it entirely. I’ll shatter it next time!” Armin stirred his spoon through his bowl before taking another bite.

Eren made a sputtering noise as he wrinkled his nose. “You’re much too happy about that.”

“But it’s for your own good in the long run,” Armin insisted.

Eren didn’t seem to believe that, and appeared about to argue when his face suddenly became flushed and his eyes wide. Steam rose up from his body and beneath the table as he pushed away from it in a rush. “Uhm, ah, yeah.” He didn’t give any better explanation than that as he fled from the table.

Meanwhile, Levi, who had been quiet the entire while, wiped his mouth with a napkin and then got up as well. “We’ll practice in about an hour or so,” he told Mikasa as he snatched up the remaining half-empty bottle of wine then trailed out after Eren.

Everyone watched him leave in confusion, their own meal forgotten. “Uh, I know I’m tired, but what the hell just happened?” Erd asked after about two minutes had passed.

Hange grinned as she reached over for Levi’s unfinished glass of wine, since Levi had taken the only bottle with any wine left in it. “Well, if I were to take a guess, a certain grouch followed my advice and remembered about his link with his honeybunch.”

Unfortunately, Armin beat Mikasa for Eren’s abandoned glass of wine. “Can we *please* not talk about anything relating to Eren and sex?” he pleaded. “We grew up with him.”

“Aw, but sex is a natural part of life,” Hange tried to explain. “Even family members do it.”

“*No*, it’s more than him being like a brother to me, though that’s bad enough.” Armin paused to finish off his own glass of wine and then Eren’s. “Eren is a *shifter*. You have any idea how often we saw him naked because him changing shape? After a while, you just… disassociate him from anything sexual.”

“Oh!” Petra paused in mid-bite to a biscuit to gape at him. “That’s why you said that thing about Levi not being happy earlier when he changed into a cat!” She seemed to think about something and then blushed. “Oh my.”

“Petra!” Erd sounded appalled just then. “He’s a kid! Well, he’s young. And… *Levi*.”

“Yeah, but he has a really nice ass,” Hange confided in Petra. “Wait til you see him shift into-“

Mikasa slammed her glass into the table. “Please, he’s my brother.”

“Fine, fine. So Levi’s the only one who gets to enjoy Eren’s ass, figuratively and literally.” Hange folded her arms over her chest and pouted, while Armin latched onto Mikasa’s hands to keep her from casting out her magic.

“Okay, time to grab another bottle of wine, yes?” he offered as he got up. “While you enjoy the nice meal that Eren made just for you,” he reminded her.

“All right.” While she enjoyed the delicious meal Eren had made just for her… and Levi was doing unspeakable things to her brother. Oh yes, she certainly was looking forward to that training session now.

*******

Erwin parked the Land Rover just outside of the ward that protected the small, one story ranch nestled in the woods outside of Karanese. “Are you ready?”

Mike and Nanaba held up the pieces of jewelry that he’d handed to them earlier, with Mike sliding the long chain which held the ring over his neck in case he had to shift. “Whenever you want to go,” Nanaba told Erwin.

Taking a few seconds to check to see if there were any spells that might tip off the mage inside, Erwin also re-examined the ward before he nodded to his friends and opened the door so he could step outside. Mike and Nanaba followed, and they all moved silently toward the house, the ward presenting no problem thanks to the modified charms. Nanaba conjured up a faint mist to cloak their presence, and Mike split off so he could enter from the back of the house while they went for the front.

Creeping toward the door, Erwin used the gauntlet charm to ‘sense’ where its creator was, getting a feel for the earth mage. Once he had an idea of his location, Erwin summoned his fire and blasted the door down, then leapt into the house.

There was a small entrance room, and past it a living area, where it looked as if Djel had been enjoying the evening by reading something in a chair next to his fireplace. The earth mage was stunned by their violent entrance, his pale blue eyes wide with shock and his face slack, yet his hands were in motion as he stumbled to his feet – only to be cut short by a wall of hellfire.

“I wouldn’t, if I were you.” Erwin smiled as Nanaba, aided by the necklace charm, used her water talents to gain control of Djel’s body. “Ah, it looks as if you’re going to cooperate now, yes?” A large shadow broke away from the corner of the room and revealed itself to be Mike, who prowled over to join them. “We’ve some questions for you, so do behave or else I’ll have my companion here start taking bites.” He waved away the hellfire while Mike bared a very impressive set of teeth. “Nanaba?”

She bowed her head, her short, blonde hair glimmering in the firelight, and allowed Djel command of his voice. “But… how? The wards?” He strained as he spoke, as if attempting to move his body or to cast a spell.

Erwin held up the gauntlet he’d removed from the dead Reiss mage several days before. “I commend you on your work, it’s really very fine. No wonder Reiss hires you for all those charms.” Djel’s face reddened as his eyes darted to the ring hanging on Mike’s black-clad chest and the necklace shining against Nanaba’s dark garb.

“The charms – how did you get them?”

“Their owners were beyond a need for them at the time.” Erwin shrugged as he lowered his hand. “I’ve some very clever friends, and we worked up a way to turn your magic against you, so I suggest you answer some questions for me.”

Djel’s eyes narrowed in anger. “Answer you? A bunch of rebellious punks who think they can just do whatever they want? That they can throw aside millennia of rules and order?” Erwin sighed as the mage went on with the familiar tirade and motioned to Mike. “You can go fu-aow! Ahh!” Djel screamed as Mike raked a vicious set of claws along his chest, shredding what was certain to be an expensive wool sweater and sending blood splattering onto a fine rug. After a few seconds, Erwin nodded once to Nanaba, who silenced the screams.

“I’m sorry, did you think I was lying about the ‘take a bite’ part?” Erwin gave the panicked Djel a pleasant smile. “Nanaba can keep you from bleeding out while Mike takes you apart piece by piece, you know. Or I can burn you to ash, inch by inch, it’s really your preference.” He motioned to Nanaba to give the earth mage control of his head, and Djel responded by shaking it in a frantic motion. “We’re not here to do any ‘rabble-rousing’, we’re here to find out about one of your – of Reiss’ – own. So answer our questions or suffer,” he told the pompous ass.

Another flick of the finger and Djel could speak once more. “I… I don’t… I… the geas,” Djel sputtered, his face shiny with tears and mucus.

Erwin gestured with the gauntlet and engulfed the item with his flames – to activate the spells placed on the charm, not to destroy it. “That won’t be a problem. Now, I need you to tell me everything you know about Hitch Dreyse.”

The earth mage stared at him in apparent confusion, sweat matting strands of dark hair to his forehead and lines of stress appearing on his face. “Ra- ramona’s daughter?” His eyes went wide as if he was startled to find himself talking. “The one who decided to take on her grandfather’s name? Why would you want to know about her? She left the Reiss organization.”

Satisfaction filled Erwin upon hearing that. “Yes, I’m very interested in hearing about the girl.” He inclined his head and Nanaba took to leaning against the wall while he hitched his left hip against the back of the couch, yet Mike remained on guard near Djel, a looming, intimidating presence. “Tell me everything about the girl, what she’s like, who are her friends, her habits, *everything*.” He held up the charm, making it clear that Djel had no choice in the matter.

They would get the information they needed to help hunt down Hitch and the shifters. And if it left Reiss with one less powerful mage at their disposal… well, Erwin would consider that an added bonus.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, I just somehow know that after talking about the Beast Titan here, they'll go more indepth w/ him in the next chapter or two. Grrr.... Anyway, that's my take on the manga situation.  
> Don't you just love how Erwin is like ten steps ahead of everyone else? Well, except maybe Armin....


	9. By the pricking of my thumbs...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm... yeah, it gets a little darker here. Just a little....  
> Once again, thanks so much for the comments and kudos!!

*******

Eren groaned as he buried his face in the pillow in front of him, only to groan again when he felt Levi’s cool hand stroke along his bare back.

“What is it now?”

“I just realized that I have to do the sheets *again*.” Eren crumpled the pillow beneath his chin as he looked up at his lover, and grimaced at the amusement he felt from the bastard. “Yeah, yeah, it’s so funny.”

“I’d send Erwin a text to ask him to pick up some more, but not sure it’s worth him harassing me about it.” An annoyed expression settled on Levi’s face for a few seconds as he pulled on a clean sweater, a dark color like most of his clothes. He sat down on the bed next to Eren so he could put on the thick pair of socks. “Besides, it’ll give you something to do while I’m out playing with your sister.”

“That doesn’t sound right.” Eren curled up around Levi while his lover continued to get dressed, a little sleepy and largely sated from feeling so much pleasure and Levi’s magic. “And Armin’s going to be using me as a test subject, remember?” He reached out to tug on the hem of the black sweater; did the man buy them in bulk or what?

Levi grunted as he snatched at Eren’s hand then held on to it. “I’m thinking you’ll survive.” His thumb rubbed along the palm of Eren’s hand for a few seconds, and then he shook his head as if realizing what he was doing. When he made to stand up, Eren held on to his hand. “What?”

“Does this… it doesn’t bother you, does it?” Eren scooted a little closer and sat up as he continued to hold onto Levi’s hand, his eyes focused on the calloused yet elegant fingers; he didn’t need to look at Levi’s face to have an idea what his lover was thinking. “I mean… well, this.”

There was a deep sigh before Levi’s left hand slid through Eren’s hair and forced him to look up. “There’s that eloquent shit of yours, brat.” Levi’s expression was stern, even a touch annoyed, yet his emotions were amused. “Try using little words to explain yourself.”

“Asshole,” Eren muttered with affection even as he hugged Levi’s right hand to his chest. “What I’m asking is, do you mind *us*? This whole bond thing… *me*?” He took a deep breath before he continued. “I can’t… I don’t know what I’m doing with you most of the time, I’m just reacting.”

Levi was quiet for a few seconds and then his fingers tightened in Eren’s hair. “I thought we settled all this earlier,” he said before clicking his tongue. “I gave you a choice to walk away that night and you didn’t.”

“Yeah, but that was one night.” Eren slipped his fingers between Levi’s. “Now it’s a lot longer.”

“So?” Levi let go of his hair so he could flick Eren in the ear, and smiled in the face of the resulting glare – at least for a moment before his expression turned serious, along with his emotions. “You heard them, nobody except the lunatic expected me to end up with anyone, and these are people who are my friends. Then I find you.”

“So you’re with me because I put up with you?”

That earned him another flick. “I wasn’t finished yet, brat.” Levi sighed while Eren rubbed his ear, his emotions that odd mix which Eren had so much trouble making any sense out of. “You’re young, you’re mouthy, you’re impetuous, you hog the damn bed and you’ve no definition of personal space. You should drive me nuts.”

“But your magic feels so good,” Eren complained as he scooted closer. “I can’t help it.”

Levi rubbed at his forehead as if dealing with a tiring problem, even if his emotions were more bemused than anything now. “And there’s that – no one likes my magic, *no one*. Except you, the annoying little shit who somehow was perfect in every way except one, and you even changed that for me.” He used the hold Eren had on his hand to pull him in closer. “You don’t piss me off – well, not too much, your magic feels good, too, I don’t even mind it when you’re draped all over me, and… dammit, enough of this shit.” He twisted his hand free and cupped Eren’s face so he could lean in for a kiss, his emotions searing and overwhelming and… and…. Eren couldn’t think, could just *feel* and enjoy.

After what had to be a good minute or two, Levi broke off the kiss, his mouth trailing along Eren’s jaw. “So no more stupid questions, okay? Hate talking about this crap.”

Eren bent his head to rest it against Levi’s shoulder. “Okay. It’s just… I think this is part of who- of what I am. The link, the magic, it’s not normal. You shouldn’t have to put up with it.” He let out a shaky breath and then yelped in pain when his ear got nipped. “Dammit!”

“What the fuck makes you think I’m normal, either?” Levi asked as he pulled away, a slight smile on his lips. “It’s more of that ‘complementary’ bullshit that Erwin was talking about.”

Eren let out a frustrated whine as he fell back onto the bed, his fists pressed against his eyes. “Something about my nature hates me, doesn’t it?”

“That was the luckiest day of your life, the day you met me.” Amusement poured into him as Levi ruffled his hair then got off the bed. “What are you making for dinner?”

He sat back up and began to pull off the pillowcases. “I don’t know, any suggestions?”

Levi paused by the door and gave the question some thought. “Pasta would be good, considering all the practice we put in today.”

Eren took a moment to consider what Gunther and Erd had brought to the cabin. “I think we’ve got everything for pasta carbonara, but tell Erwin to bring more bacon the next time he comes by.”

His lover nodded before leaving, emotions pleased; Eren finished stripping the bed and went to wash off before getting dressed and leaving the room himself. Once downstairs, he found Petra and Erd watching a movie in the large open area that constituted the ‘living room’ with a fire blazing in the huge fire pit, and nodded to them when they called out his name. It was no surprise that Armin was busy mixing ingredients at the kitchen table, though Gunther, his dark hair damp and spikey, was at the other end eating the leftovers from lunch. “Hey! Great timing, I’m just about done here!”

“Let me throw in this load and then put on a robe,” Eren told his friend, and did his best not to blush at the knowing grin he received. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“What? That you abandoned your family and friends at lunch to go have a, well, that wasn’t exactly a quickie, was it?” Armin smirked as he poured whatever the hell foul-smelling liquid he’d concocted into several vials with various bits in the bottom.

“Could feel your guys’ magic lighting up two rooms down,” Gunther grumbled between bites. “Finally gave up trying to sleep and came down here.”

“You might want to ward your room,” Armin offered. “Else Hange’s going to do it for you.”

“I don’t… laundry.” Eren nearly ran into the laundry room and hoped he stopped blushing by the time he had to leave it. Once the sheets were in the washer, he took a deep breath and returned to the kitchen. “Be right back!”

“Oh I know, Levi’s too busy right now to be a distraction.”

There were times when he really, really disliked being friends with a know-it-all. Gritting his teeth, Eren went back upstairs to change into his, well, an old robe of Hange’s, then headed downstairs, mindful of the length of the robe on the steps. As he returned to the kitchen, he picked up on the annoyance and building anger his lover was feeling, and knew it wasn’t just him who wasn’t having the best time at the moment.

Maybe Mikasa wasn’t too pleased with how Levi had distracted him at lunch….

Upon entering the kitchen, he gave his friend a nervous smile. “Uhm, so how was Mikasa at lunch?”

“Hmm, other than a bit upset at you and Levi disappearing for most of it?” Armin stood up from the table with a wry grin. “Need I say more?”

“Damn.” Eren jerked his right hand through his hair. “Yeah, that explains it.” At Armin’s confused look, Eren tapped his fingers against his right temple, which made his friend wince.

“Ouch, I hope they don’t try to kill each other.” Armin headed to the door leading to the main room. “Hange! We’re doing this now!”

Gunther grunted and hunched over his food. “Really, in here? Can’t a poor guy just eat in peace?”

Armin laughed as he motioned for Eren to follow him. “All right, at least one thing should go your way today, I guess. We’ll bother Petra and Erd instead.”

“Good. Oh, and thanks for the food, Eren.”

Eren waved in acknowledgement to Gunther as they left him in peace, still a bit embarrassed that he’d bothered him earlier with the, yeah, okay, moving on past that. They went into the large foyer area, and found Hange running down the stairs, hair tied back in a messy bun and dressed in raggedy sweats. “Now? Yes!” She looked as if she had just gotten out of the shower herself. “I want to see if this works.”

“She wants to throw one of them at me, doesn’t she?” Eren translated as he glanced at Armin.

“Well, she did help a bit.”

“I hate all of you, I really do.” Eren ground his teeth together as he tugged back his hair. “Do you ever stop to think about how I feel as a lab rat?” At their blank stares, he let out his breath and shook his head. “Fine, let’s get this over with, just tell me there’s some beer or something that I can have when it’s done.”

“That’s a good lab rat, focusing on the cheese,” Armin encouraged him with a pat on the head, and laughed when Eren swatted at his hand.

Meanwhile, Hange pulled out her phone. “Petra, come here, I want you to film this for me.”

“Ah, okay.” Petra jumped up from one of the couches while Erd paused the movie they were watching. “For Erwin?”

“Something like that.” Hange smiled as she handed over the phone. “Do your thing, Eren!”

He sighed as he concentrated on the armor ward, the now-familiar sensation of the crystal forming all over his body. “Okay.” He let the robe slip open to expose a larger area of his chest and rolled up the sleeves.

“Go stand on the rug over there – it’ll be easier for us to clean up,” Armin told him while he held a vial with a red cap in his right hand. “All right, here’s the first sample.” As soon as Eren was centered in the rug, he threw the vial at him.

The thin glass shattered and at first Eren felt nothing… and then he shuddered. “Ah! It itches!” The armor steamed a little but didn’t break or vanish.

Armin nodded as he handed a vial with a black cap to Hange. “That one was similar to the previous batch. Now try this, I added hematite to it.”

Hange tossed the vial once up in the air before she threw it at Eren, and this time he felt the effects immediately; he fell to his knees as the armor smoked around him, but managed to keep it from completely disintegrating. “Ooooh, that *stings*!”

“Yes!” Hange jumped up and down while Armin ran over to him.

“You okay? Do you want us to stop?” He helped Eren stand up, while Petra paused in the filming to offer to get him some water.

“No, I’m fine,” he told them both. “Let’s just… let’s just finish this. What about the next one?”

Armin appeared a bit doubtful but went back over to stand beside Hange. “Can you armor up again?”

“Yes.” It took a few seconds, but Eren managed to reform the crystal ward. “I hope this one works, as crazy as that sounds.” He didn’t want to do this all day.

“Me too.” Armin offered him a nervous smile as he held up a vial with a white cap. “Okay, this is similar to the last one, just a few tweaks to it to make it more potent.”

Eren gritted his teeth in preparation for some more ‘stinging’. “Yay, happy about it already.”

“Hit him with it,” Hange urged, her brown eyes almost manic behind her glasses.

Eren braced himself as the vial flew at him, and even the experience of the previous sample didn’t prepare him for the fire that burned along his nerves as the liquid splashed into his ward and ate through it. His first response was to shift into something smaller, the cat form coming easily to him, and as he scrambled to get out of the wet robe he felt a now familiar sensation of reaching for the magic of others, to grab it and pull it into himself in order to render them weak, defenseless and- He hissed at Armin when his friend went to pick him up, both in reaction to the pain from the potion and a warning as he struggled to contain the new impulse then ran away as fast as he could, claws skittering on first the stone floor then the wooden steps as he headed for his bedroom.

He didn’t change back until he was in the shower, hands trembling as he twisted the water on, cold at first and then hot to wash the remnants of the awful potion from his skin. The water poured down on him as he huddled at the bottom of the tub, arms over his head, and struggled to control his breathing, the tearing sense of panic inside of him.

There were voices outside, too low to make out over the water beating down around him, and then the bathroom door opened wider. Eren jerked his head up as Levi’s magic rushed forth, even more comforting than the warm water rinsing away the potion. Levi stared down at Eren for a few seconds before crouching by the tub and reaching in to turn off the water. “I think we should have stayed in bed.”

That prompted a weak laugh from Eren as he wrapped his arms around his knees; he noticed that Levi’s coat was torn at the right sleeve and it looked as if he had a leaf stuck in his hair. “It felt as if acid was thrown on me and I nearly drained my friends dry, what about you?” He reached out to fetch the leaf, which prompted a grimace from his lover when he spied it.

“I had to put up with your sister and her crazy belief that I don’t show you enough respect.” Levi clicked his tongue as he brushed back the wet hair falling onto Eren’s face. “You got a problem with me?” Despite his bland expression, his emotions were an unusual mix of apprehension, concern and possessiveness.

A bit surprised by the question, Eren had to remind himself of whom it was who did the asking – someone who believed that insults and ear flicks were acceptable signs of affection. “Hmm, you’re a mean bastard of a slave driver,” he reminded Levi as he tilted his face into the caress.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” Levi’s emotions ‘smoothed’ out as he brushed his fingers along Eren’s cheek then took to combing them through his hair. “I take it the potion was a success?”

“You could say that.” Eren shivered, both from the feel of Levi’s fingers and in memory of the test. “It’ll be a nice surprise for the others.”

“If you say so. You know Armin’s going to need more of your ward to make a larger batch.” There was a flash of pity and concern as Levi’s fingers trailed down his nape.

Eren groaned at the thought. “He better not want to test it on me.”

“We’ll figure something out.” Levi pushed at his shoulder before standing up. “Come on, get out of there and get dressed.”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes, because I refuse to eat what any of those sorry fucks down there cook – well, Petra’s not too bad, but that’s about it.” Levi grabbed an oversized towel from the rack and held it up.

Eren groaned again as he stood up. “Tell me the truth – you barely put up with me until you realized I could cook, didn’t you?”

Levi grinned and enveloped him with the towel, his hands settling on Eren’s ass to then lift him out of the tub. “The sex doesn’t hurt, but yeah, I’m keeping you because it beats living off of canned soup for the rest of my life.”

He would punch the asshole just then, but Levi kept his arms trapped beneath the towel. “I repeat, ‘mean bastard’.”

“And I told you, that seems to be your taste in men.”

“No, I think you said ‘assholes’ are,” Eren reminded him.

“That too.” Levi gave his ass a pat before letting go of the towel. “Now get dressed,” he ordered while shrugging out of the jacket. “Fuck, I’ll have to have Erwin pick up one of these, too.”

“Might as well ask for the sheets after all,” Eren argued as he dried off. “Or get Armin to do it, think he owes me right now.” He hung up the towel and went back into the bedroom to get dressed, and Levi followed after a minute; there was the sound of water running so he probably washed off from the fight. Eren was pulling on one of his ‘claimed’ sweaters when Levi appeared, hair damp and slicked back from his face. “I don’t like how I react by trying to drain people,” Eren admitted as he sat down on the bed.

Levi came over and ran his fingers along the side of Eren’s face, the touch light and almost teasing, especially with the lingering feel of magic. “You said ‘nearly drained’, and everyone looked fine to me. So that means you didn’t drain them, right?”

Eren sighed as he nodded. “I stopped it, *this* time. What happens if I don’t the next?”

“And what happens if the next time it’s those bastards attacking us?” Levi reached down to grab Eren’s hands and yanked him to his feet. “Seems to me that while it’s not ideal, it is your magic’s way of protecting you. You’re learning to control it, which is the important part.”

“I suppose.” He still worried that he might hurt Armin or Mikasa, or any of his new friends; at least he knew that Levi was immune to the new talent.

Levi clicked his tongue and gave Eren a swat on the ass, his emotions mostly that of reassurance but with a hint of annoyance. “Enough whining. Stop moping about this ‘maybe’ shit and go make me dinner.” He caught Eren’s chin and gave him a tender kiss before smacking him on the ass again. “Now.”

“There’s that ‘respect’, all right,” Eren muttered as he headed for the door.

“You’ve never had it better and you know it,” Levi called after him.

Smiling both from the teasing and the affection and amusement he felt from his lover, Eren stepped out of the room and was surprised to find Mikasa and Armin waiting outside. “Oh, hello.” He smoothed his hands along the front of the sweater even though they hadn’t been doing anything, well, okay, no reason to blush. “Everything all right?”

“That’s our question.” Mikasa pushed away from the railing overlooking the floor below and stepped closer as her dark eyes raked over him. “How are you?”

Oh, yeah, the whole shifting and hissing and running away thing. “I’m better now.” Remembering that Levi wasn’t too happy with Mikasa, he hooked his arm through his sister’s and led her toward the stairs. “I think it’s safe to say that Armin’s potion worked.”

“Well, I’m not happy that it seemed to hurt you, but yes, it did break your ward,” Armin admitted, his expression a bit depressed as he followed. “I’m really sorry about that, I didn’t think beyond figuring out what would break the magic.”

“It’s all right,” Eren assured him. “Yeah, it was painful, but you’re not going to use it on me again, right?” He felt some relief when Armin shook his head vigorously enough to cause his blond hair to fan out. “Then it seems to me the more painful it is, the better.”

Armin managed a weak smile. “I mean, I would like to figure out a non-painful version just in case, we never know if you might manage to make the ward more permanent and we might need to do something if you’re unconscious, but that can be done at a later time. Right now, we just need something to take out those three.” His guilty expression returned. “So, uhm, I’ll need you to armor up again and then release it so I can get some more ‘steam’ so I can make more of the potion.”

Eren smiled back while Mikasa gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. “Long as you’re not throwing anything at me this time, I’ll do it after dinner, okay?”

“Great!” Armin laughed a little as they headed downstairs. “Hopefully Hange will wait that long – now that she knows there’s a way to burn through their ward, she’s rather insistent on making buckets of the stuff.”

Eren shuddered at the thought of how much of his ward breaking down that would require. “Maybe I should head back upstairs….”

“No, you’ve been spending too much time up there.” Mikasa’s eyes narrowed as if in anger as she all but dragged him toward the kitchen. “Come hang out with Armin and me.”

That sounded promising, especially if a vengeful Hange was lurking about. “So, how did the practice go?” Eren winced when Mikasa’s fingers on his arm dug in all of a sudden. “That well?”

She glanced aside as she tugged up the scarf. “I did learn a useful trick or two today. Levi….” He thought he saw her lips twist when she said his lover’s name. “He does know a lot.”

“Imagine that.” The sarcasm had her jerk her head around, and he gave her an innocent look. “I thought you two were getting along.”

She met his gaze for a few seconds before glancing aside, and by that point they had reached the kitchen. “I just wanted to make sure he’s treating you right.”

Eren let go of her arm so he could stand in front of his sister. “Look… maybe I don’t know what’s all going on between Levi and me, but I do know that I trust him, and I do… I like being with him.” His face heated up as he admitted that last part. “Even if he’s grumpy and bossy and… oh, I don’t know. He’s Levi.” He scratched at the back of his head as he tried to explain his boyfriend. “I think we’re both really new to this… stuff.”

Fortunately, Armin came to his rescue. “It’s all right, we know about Levi’s abs,” he explained as he patted Eren on the shoulder. “We understand what has you all confused and horny.”

Or maybe not. Eren stared at his friend in horror before he walked away in silence to begin working on dinner.

“At least he can defend you, and he seems to be an adequate lover,” Mikasa offered. “Even if he could work on expressing his emotions better.”

About to open the fridge to fetch some ingredients, Eren paused and considered banging his head against it instead. “Please, just… please, do *not* go there, okay? I don’t want to discuss this with my sister.”

Mikasa gave him the ‘look’, the one where she clearly was doing something for his own good and so didn’t understand why he wasn’t being cooperative, then shook her head. “You’re both idiots, you do realize that, right? If there is some sort of bond between you, then you need a stable basis for a relationship – something other than you like each other’s magic and an obvious physical compatibility.”

Yeah, that pretty much was what he didn’t want to talk about with his sister or his best friend. Eren gritted his teeth together as he fetched several ingredients from the fridge. “We’re working on it, okay? Kinda difficult when we’re also trying to deal with the fact that these assholes are hunting me down and killing Levi’s friends.”

Mikasa came over to grab the package of bacon about to fall out of his arms and reached out to touch his cheek. “I know, and I worry that so much is happening all at once.” That concern shone in her dark eyes and creased her pale forehead. “It’s not an excuse for him to mistreat you or push you into doing something you’re not ready for, all right?”

“All right.” Eren juggled the carton of eggs and block of cheese so he could press his hand against the one cupping his face. “Just remember that I can feel his emotions. It might seem like he’s being an asshole, but he’s not, okay? Not really.” Then he grimaced. “Not most of the time, not to me.”

“Yeah, prickly is Levi’s default mode, but there’s a gooey center in him down deep.”

Somehow Hange had snuck into the kitchen, which caused Eren to jerk around and begin to drop the eggs; luckily Mikasa used her threads to save them from falling onto the floor. “Eh?”

Hange smiled at him as she sauntered into the room with a large vial in her hand. “I was checking through my supplies for Armin, and I do have some rendered belladonna.”

Armin helped Mikasa with the food as he beamed at Hange. “Thank you! That’ll help speed things up, and once we get more of the crystal ward essence from Eren after dinner, we can work on a new batch tonight.”

The blood witch handed the vial over to him and then continued onward, until she approached Eren. “Thanks, hon,” she told him as she ruffled his hair. “Those bastards won’t know what hit ‘em once we have more of that potion ready.” She appeared guilty for a moment as she pulled her hand away. “Sorry that the trial session got a little rough.”

Eren felt a little uncomfortable as he combed back his hair. “Uhm, it’s okay, I know it was for something important.” He much preferred a happy, hyper Hange to a serious, depressed one. “Besides, it makes us even for me draining you earlier.”

And just like that, Hange was once more grinning. “I suppose it does! Ya gotta go with the flow in these experiments, that’s what I always say!” She patted him on the head before she spun around. “So, what, we need to grind up some more hematite and flint? I think we need Gunther’s help with that to make it go by faster. Oi, Gunther!” She stalked out of the kitchen without waiting for Armin’s answer, intent on the poor earth mage.

Eren watched her go before he shook his head. “It’s going to be an interesting dinner, huh?”

“Especially if you and Levi can get through it without running off for sex,” Mikasa commented in a dry tone as she pulled a cheese grater out of a drawer. Meanwhile, Armin made a choking sound as if he was desperate to not laugh.

Headed to the pantry for some pasta, Eren glanced over his shoulder to look at his sister, who met his gaze with a blank look. “Yeah, we’ll see what we can do,” he managed to get out without any stuttering, the entire time telling himself that he couldn’t wait until she was in a relationship herself so he could get some payback. He distinctly remembered a bit of sneaking around back when… well, before they had to run away, so it should be interesting once Mikasa found someone who caught her eye. Until then… he just hoped that Levi learned some calming techniques.

*******

Annie had to admit, the failure with the location spell seemed to have provided some motivation for Hitch, who stood in front of the trapped earth mage with a rare display of rage on her face. “Tell us what we want to know,” she hissed as she gestured to one of the revenants which held the man upright. Spirits whirled around him and snatched away the white bandana tied around his head, the motion causing his hazel eyes to blink. “Tell us or I’ll have them tear out your spleen.”

Bert stepped forward to put a stop to the unnecessary roughness, his shape shrunken down to ‘normal’ height even if he was in his fighting form and covered with the crystal armor. “That’s enough for nuh-now. Give him time to speak.”

“Nah… not sayin’ anythin’,” the earth mage drawled, which prompted Reiner, also in his fighting form, to step out of the shadows.

“Wrong answer.” He extended a clawed finger and dug it into the left side of the mage’s face, trailed it along the bearded jaw until the man screamed. “Do you want us to start with your entrails next? Our friend here can keep you from dying long enough until we get the answers we need.”

Hitch’s expression sharpened as she grinned. “I won’t let your soul slip free, no matter how much you beg. Imagine how much it’ll *hurt*.”

Busy tapping on her phone, Annie cleared her throat as she reminded her friends that there was a point to this; Bert jerked his head back as if guilty while Reiner clenched his hands. “Yes, so tell us what we want to know – where is Levi Ackerman and Erwin Smith.” When the mage shook his head, Reiner clutched at his jaw. “Don’t lie to us, we know that potion broke down the geas.”

The mage shook his head again. “Don’… don’ know. Haven’ heard from ‘em in weeks.”

Reiner glanced over at Annie, who checked her phone for the bits of information they had collected so far; this mage was supposed to work closely with Erwin Smith and be trusted with important tasks in their little ‘rebel’ organization. “Try again,” she told him.

Reiner appeared to sigh as he dug the claw down the man’s chest. “We know you’re considered important to Smith, so he talks to you. Where is he?”

The mage screamed and shook his head. “No – no word!” He screamed some more when Reiner’s claw burrowed into his abdomen. “Bu-busy with somethin’… with Levi!”

“We know that, we need to know where!” Reiner pulled out the bloody claw and wiped it along the man’s face, which was covered with sweat and tears. “Where are they hiding?”

“Dun’ know, the truth!” The mage attempted to pull away from the revenants and cried out when they tightened their hold on his arms enough for Annie to hear bones creak. “Ah! Tu-try Mike!” He sobbed after giving up the name.

“Yes, the were, we know.” Annie made another notation by the name. “We’re looking for him, too. So what does Smith have you do?”

“You heard her,” Hitch insisted as the revenants tightened their hold, enough to break the mage’s left arm. “Speak!” She had to shout to be heard over the screaming.

Annie’s eyes narrowed at the interference, while Reiner’s fists clenched and Bert appeared sick; it took the mage a couple of minutes to stop retching and sobbing enough to talk again. “Run errands,” he murmured, at first barely more than a whisper.

“What was that?” Reiner used a claw to tilt up the man’s chin.

“Ru-run errands,” the mage stuttered, a broken look to his face. “Talk ta people, deliver letters.”

There was something about the last part, the way he looked aside, that caught Annie’s attention. “Letters to who?” She frowned and motioned to Reiner. “What’s in those letters?”

“Answer her!” Reiner once more clawed up the mage’s chest.

“AH! Du-don’ know! Jus… letters for Levi,” he admitted with a sob.

*Now* they were getting somewhere. Annie nearly crushed her phone, she was holding it so tight in her hands. “Tell us everything about those letters,” she ordered the mage. “Tell us, and maybe we won’t need to keep tracking down your friends.” He wasn’t dumb enough to think that he was getting out of this alive. Reiner nodded and held out his claws as an incentive.

The mage hung his head and sobbed for several seconds, and then all of a sudden jerked forward, his chin held up as his throat brushed against Reiner’s claws. If it wasn’t for her friend’s quick reflexes, the mage might have impaled himself on the sharp claws, but Reiner pulled back his hand in time, as well as Hitch made the revenants haul the mage away.

“Yeah, I’d say he knows something,” Reiner muttered as he curled his hand into a fist. “Hitch, ready that spell – we’re going to drag the truth out of him, one way or another.”

Hitch smiled in evident delight, while Annie – as well as Bert – braced herself for things to take on a decided nasty turn.

*******

Erwin sat in the back of the SUV while Nanaba drove, busy checking messages on his phone while Mike appeared to be concentrating on the wrapped razor that Levi had ‘charmed’. “How close we gotta be to find this necromancer?”

“Hmm? Oh, I don’t know, most tracking spells with some sort of distance are within a couple of miles or so,” he guessed as he tabbed through his messages. “We should be headed in the right direction to find Hitch, based on the information that Djel gave us.”

Mike grunted, the sound conveying that he didn’t really trust the Reiss earth mage even if the man hadn’t been given much of a choice to embellish his answers before his death. Erwin shook his head and continued through his messages… his concern growing with each one. “It’s clear that our ‘friends’ have been around here, I’m getting a lot of alarm that there’s been numerous questions about our colleagues.”

“Hmm?” Nanaba glanced away from the road to look at him. “They’re still trying to track us down?”

“I’d say so – at least three people are reporting to me that word has gotten back to them that people are asking about them, though the descriptions vary each time.” Erwin started typing on his phone and sent out a group message, something he rarely did, asking if everyone was okay; he did break it down into several small groups and used the strongest encryption possible. “I’m checking to ensure that everyone is okay.”

Mike pulled out his silent phone and held it up, his eyebrows arched, which caused Erwin to roll his eyes. “I know you two are fine.”

“No love,” the were replied in a mournful tone.

“Nanaba loves you just fine,” Erwin informed him. “And I’ll love you more if you concentrate on that charm and find me a necromancer to burn.”

Mike made a sniffing sound as he put his phone away. “Been hanging around Levi too much.” Meanwhile, Nanaba giggled beside him.

“Hmm, a distinct possibility.” Erwin’s eyes narrowed as he began to receive replies from his people and went through them one by one, a sense of relief as people checked in to let him know they were all right. It took a few minutes, but gradually he had responses from the majority of them, but the lack of one from a person in particular sent off warning bells. “Fuck.”

“What is it?” Nanaba glanced at him through the rear-view mirror.

“I’m not hearing back from Dita.” Erwin’s fingers dug into the frame of the phone for a second before he forced himself to relax. “He’s always really good about responding, too.”

“He’s not far from here,” Mike pointed out with a growl deepening his voice.

“I know.” Erwin met Nanaba’s eyes in the mirror, and she sped up the vehicle, swerving to take the next exit so she could head along the back roads which would take them out to Dita’s place.

About twenty minutes into the ride, Mike growled and held up the razor. “It’s picking up something.”

That was not promising news. “Be prepared for a fight,” Erwin warned as they turned down the road that would lead them to Dita’s home. The road was narrow and little more than a dirt path, so the SUV would be noisy and stand out – about halfway down it, Mike motioned for Nanaba to stop and shrugged out of his shirt as he climbed out of the vehicle.

Tossing his jeans inside a moment later, Mike shifted into his saber tooth form, almost dwarfing the SUV with his massive size. A low rumble came out of his throat before he charged forward, much quieter than the vehicle with its loud engine. Nanaba waited several seconds before she started it up again and put it back into ‘drive’. “You think they’re still there?”

“I think something happened to Dita, and at the least we might have found a trail,” Erwin explained as the SUV lurched forward. Erwin put his phone away so he would be better prepared for what would happen next, and almost felt disappointed when they reached the small household a few minutes later and everything appeared normal.

Nanaba put the SUV into park before they climbed out, with neither Mike nor any of Dita’s horses anywhere to be seen. “Dita?” Erwin called out his friend’s name but didn’t feel the man’s earth magic, nor Mike’s. He frowned as he stepped away from the vehicle, and only had a second’s warning at the flash of necromancy.

“Move!” He grabbed onto Nanaba’s arm and yanked her out of danger moments before a revenant’s hands broke through the earth right where they had been, clawing about in an attempt to latch on. He sent a wave of hellfire to burn the thing as he reached out for his magic, and ‘felt’ a pulse of the wild magic similar to Eren’s. “They’re in the back! Watch out for more revenants.”

“Yes, sir!” He could feel her magic cast out as if she was seeking for the creatures, for the faint amount of fluid in their bodies, while he surrounded the two of them with hellfire as they ran toward the small house. The closer they got to the house, he could begin to hear terrible noises, could hear the roar of Mike’s shifted form and something else, something large and primordial. There was another roar, this time in pain. “Mike! We’re coming!” Nanaba cried out.

They had just come to the corner of the house when something attempted to blast through Erwin’s hellfire, a force of concentrated cold – a poltergeist. It had to be fresh for it to be so powerful, and Erwin had a sinking feeling in his gut that he knew who had provided the soul for such a spirit. “Dammit!” He motioned to Nanaba as he fanned out the flames in an attempt to drive away their attacker as they split apart.

The revenants immediately came after him, while something with wings zeroed in on Nanaba. He used his hellfire to burn the undead to ash… and caught a glimpse of Mike, being torn apart by what looked to be a gryphon. A *gryphon*. Erwin’s shock lasted only a heartbeat or two before he took in what the supposedly mystical creature was doing to his friend. “No!” Rage filled him as he sent a blast of hellfire at the creature the size of a large truck, but it dissipated as soon as it hit its glossy bronze skin and golden wings; the cursed shifter was covered with a crystal ward.

“Die, damn you!” Nanaba sounded in tears as her magic spiked behind him, and he turned to see what appeared to be a harpy, a fucking *harpy* slash its taloned feet through the shield of ice she’d cast and then along her throat. The spells he hurled at it did nothing, nothing at all against that damn ward while Nanaba attempted to slow the blood spurting free, but the shifter slashed again and again until not even Nanaba’s talent could stem the damage.

“You fucking bastards!” Erwin felt the rage explode inside of him, felt it break free of the careful blocks he kept it behind, and with a casual gesture ‘swatted’ he aside the necromantic spell cast at him while returning it with a curse. He let the hellfire burn free, burn hot, and the approaching shifters leapt for the sky, the screaming necromancer clutched in the ‘gryphon’s front claws.

The ‘harpy’ hovered just out of reach of his flames for a moment, its black eyes seeming to stare at him as he raged and threw flames its way, which it dodged. “Give us Eren, or we’ll hunt down your companions one by one,” it told him in an almost solemn tone.

“Fuck you,” he hissed. “I will burn you beyond ash for this!”

“No, you won’t. You can’t even touch us.” It nodded to the ‘gryphon’, which flew away with the now sobbing necromancer. “You’ll just watch more of your friends die. Give us Eren and this ends.”

His answer was another ball of flame, which the ‘harpy’ dodged by shifting into a smaller shape, some type of bird, and then it was gone in a flash of dark wings. Erwin let out one more inarticulate scream before he struggled with the rage, with the hellfire, and drew both back in.

Once his control was reestablished, he took a couple of deep breaths and forced himself to survey the damage. Mike had reverted back to his human form, his body rent with savage claw and bite marks, to the point that he was almost torn in half. Nanaba lay in a pool of her own blood, her throat and chest ripped apart. Erwin bent over both of them and offered up what was probably a useless prayer to the Fates before he burned them to ash, mindful to leave nothing behind, not a single memento despite them being dear friends, and then moved on to check the house.

It wasn’t much better inside; there was a clear sign of a struggle and, as expected, he found Dita’s body in the kitchen. It was evident that his friend had suffered, had been tortured for some sort of information, and the worst was the sight of Dita’s phone sitting on the kitchen counter. Erwin picked it up and could see the message he sent out when he powered it on, and realized that this was how the shifters knew to expect them. Be it some cruel trick of the Fates or dumb luck, they must have still been at the house when he had sent out the group message and had decided to lie in wait.

He threw the phone at the opposite wall with all of the strength he could muster and forced himself to continue through the house, to see if he could find any more relevant evident. It was in the living room, at the small desk when he realized that things were so much worse than he had suspected; someone had torn through not only the desk as if looking for something, but the leather messenger bag that Dita always used when carrying the letters and packages Erwin gave him to take to-

“No. No, no, no, no!” Erwin ran over to the bag and the desk, and began to search over both, to look for any scraps that might have been left behind, for any ‘feel’ of Isabel’s or Farlan’s magic. He hadn’t given Dita any messages or packages to be delivered in weeks, so nothing had been brought back for Levi in that time, either. There should be nothing for the shifters to use for a spell, *nothing*. But what had they gotten out of Dita? Had the earth mage given up the fact that one of his most important duties was to relay things back and forth between Levi and his adopted sister? That there was a hidden weakness for one of the most powerful necromancers alive – a necromancer who was currently protecting the one thing that the shifters wanted the most?

Erwin fell to his knees as the realization sunk in and let his head bang against the oak desk. The one thing Levi had asked of him, that he had promised to do – to keep Isabel safe, to give her a new beginning, a new life, and now it was all in danger. Surrounded by the death of three friends, he cradled his head in his hands and tried to think of what to do next.

*******

Annie shifted back into a mostly human form with a fine fur covering as she landed within a few feet of a naked Reiner, who was holding down a shrieking Hitch. “What’s wrong?”

“Fuck if I know, it looks like whatever Smith hit her with has twisted her magic back on her somehow.”

She hurried over to the two of them, and grimaced as she caught sight of Hitch’s mangled right arm; it was mostly bone with decaying flesh at this point. “Cut it off before it spreads.”

“Fu-fuck you! Fu-uckin’ mages n’ unnat’ral… ‘tral… wha’ever….” Hitch stuttered out between sharp gasps of pain. Annie placed a gentle touch against the necromancer’s sweaty forehead before she held her down and nodded at Reiner.

His jaw tightened and the blood drained from his face as he shifted a large, sharp claw which glittered in the setting sunlight as it swept through the air, and then Hitch was shrieking again, blood spurting from the severed end of her arm. Annie gritted her teeth as she tore at the girl’s jacket to improvise a tourniquet while Reiner ran over to the pile of supplies Bert had stashed away before he went flying off to track down their latest quarry.

“Here, drink this!” Reiner had to yell at Hitch again to drink one of their precious potions, but managed to get it down her throat. “That should help with the healing.”

Her face a mess from blood and crying, Hitch shook her head as Annie laid her down on the ground. “Nah possbul. None a thisss…” The potion appeared to take effect at least, that or the pain and blood loss, and she passed out.

Annie first improvised a better dressing for the wound and then watched over her for a few more seconds before she went over to the pile to grab something to wear, and Reiner followed. “What are we going to do now?”

She ignored the question long enough to get dressed. “We’re going to throw her in the back of the car and get the hell out of here just in case Smith has some friends show up, and then we wait for Bert to contact us. If the cavalry doesn’t ride off to the rescue of those two within the next day or so, then we see if they’re going to run off to meet up with Ackerman.” She felt a bit better with clothes on, even if it was just a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, and then stepped into a pair of ankle boots.

Reiner glanced back at Hitch before he began to get dressed, too. “Is it even worth dragging her along? She managed to keep it together during the fighting, but she’s obviously freaked out, seeing us shift like that.”

“She also just got fucked up by one hell of a nasty spell and lost her arm.” Annie shuddered at the thought of having her own magic turned against her; she’d heard that Smith was one hell of a fighter, but didn’t know he could be that vicious or powerful. “We might still have a use for her – we haven’t taken out Ackerman yet.”

“I guess.” Reiner stomped into his combat boots with a little more force than necessary. “It’s just… I don’t like using our talents like that and leaving witnesses behind. Now we have her and Smith.”

It was a risk, letting outsiders know just how powerful they were, but Smith already knew about their warding talent and there was no telling how much Eren had revealed. “You know our orders, and the clock is ticking now that Eren’s coming into his abilities as the key. We need to hit these people hard and finish this quick." Annie reached into the back right pocket of her jeans to fetch a hair tie so she could pull her hair back into a ponytail. “Smith’s on borrowed time right now, while Hitch….” She shook her head while her lips pressed together.

Reiner nodded in understanding; Hitch had however long she could still be of use, which might not be much if she didn’t recover from the loss of her arm or from seeing them fight earlier. “Let me get her,” was all he said as he slipped on his jacket. “Hopefully it won’t be too long before we hear from Bert.”

“Worry about us getting out of here for right now,” Annie chided her friend as she headed for the SUV. Part of her wondered if they shouldn’t be trying to follow Smith back to wherever it was that the mage was keeping Eren, but they’d already decided that it would be too risky; there was no telling if he would call in reinforcements along the way and had already proven too adept at casting misdirection spells. Also, there was the simple fact that it was too obvious, so better to leave Smith wondering if the earth mage had given up Ackerman’s adopted sister or not. If Ackerman didn’t take the bait… well, then they would grab the woman and her husband and force Ackerman to choose who it was he wanted more, family or Eren.

If there was one thing that Annie knew it was that you may hate them, you may curse them, you may try to run away and distance yourself, but you could never escape family. It shaped you, it defined you, and just when you thought it broke you, family was too much a part of you to let you truly shatter… or ever let you go. Ackerman would have no choice but to give them Eren, and as Eren was handed over by the man who had falsely promised to defend him to in order to save his real family, one of them would end the liar’s life.

Just a little more bloodshed, and Eren would be back with his own family. Annie gripped the steering wheel hard enough to make it creak as she attempted to summon up some enthusiasm for that thought.

*******

Levi had just poured himself a fresh cup of tea when he felt a sense of Erwin’s magic pass through the outer wards. “The fearless leader has returned,” he informed Petra, who was drying the last of the dinner dishes.

“Let’s hope he got all of the shopping list. I can’t believe that Gunther forgot to get enough dish soap.” She grimaced as she finished with the plates.

“Yeah, he’s getting his ass kicked tomorrow.” Levi sipped his tea and then set it down on the counter as he headed for the door. “And so is Erwin if he didn’t get everything we texted him.”

“Give ‘em hell, sir!” Petra cheered as she set aside the dish towel.

Levi waved his hand at her enthusiasm and left the kitchen, and rolled his eyes at the pile of limbs and shaggy hair that compiled his lover and two friends on the floor equidistant between the big screen television and fire place; Eren appeared happy to be with his friend and sister as they watched a movie. “Hmm, Erwin here?” Eren asked as he lifted his head from where it had rested on Mikasa’s shoulder.

“It feels that way. Stay inside,” he ordered, and shifted his gaze to Mikasa to make sure that the brat didn’t get any bright ideas to leave the house. “I’ll go see what he brought back.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Eren appeared to sulk a little, at least until Mikasa tugged him back down. Meanwhile, Hange got up from the couch and sauntered over to Levi’s side.

“You’re done with the potion?”

“Yeah, at least for now.” She fiddled with her glasses as they made their way to the front door. “Armin didn’t want to push Eren for too much of his ward tonight, not after what had happened earlier, but we’ve enough vials to do some damage.” There was a predatory air about her for a few seconds, at least until she reached out to grab her coat. “We’ll make some more tomorrow.”

“As long as you don’t lob any more at Eren,” Levi warned; he had never felt Eren’s magic fluctuate like that before and despite how much Eren had downplayed it, he knew it had affected his lover. He suspected the ‘puppy’ pile on the floor was a reaction of sorts to the potion, since Armin had been bearing guilt over hurting his friend and Mikasa worried about her brother all through dinner.

Hange paused in tugging on her jacket to smile at Levi. “Aw, you’re so cute when you’re such a good boyfriend, yes you are.” When he narrowed his eyes at her and summoned his magic, she gave a nervous laugh. “Okay, maybe I mean ‘scary’ rather than ‘cute’.”

“You need your brains scrambled or something.”

“I do that well enough on my own, thank you.” She zipped her puffy tan coat closed and nodded toward the door. “We gonna see what Erwin brought back or we gonna flirt all night?”

Levi grimaced in disgust. “As if I’d flirt with someone as nasty as you.”

Hange laughed as she reached for the door. “Aw, you know I’m just too freaky for you. I’d rock your vanilla world so *hard*.”

Levi sighed as he rubbed at his forehead. “Why do I tolerate you again?”

“Because I provide all these wonderful corpses for you to use, hmm?”

He sighed again as he shoved her through the doorway. “Maybe I should use your corpse one day.”

“See, you’re so flirting with me. That’s okay, I won’t tell Eren.”

“I think you’ve been playing with too many chemicals lately.” Levi shoved his hands into the pocket of his torn jacket both in an effort to keep warm and as a way to resist smacking the pest as they stood on the porch and waited for Erwin to arrive. Feeling his friend’s magic approach, he was a bit surprised when instead of a Land Rover or a Jaguar, Erwin pulled up in a non-descript four door sedan – a late model sedan at that. “Oh fuck, something’s wrong.” Levi scrambled from the porch with Hange right after him.

They came to a halt a few feet from the driveway and waited for the car to stop; Levi could feel Hange summon her magic to her, and he did the same. The car’s engine sputtered as it was turned off, and it took several seconds before Erwin opened the door. Levi had never seen his friend appear so… so *defeated*, with his face haggard and eyes shadowed.

Hange let out an anxious laugh. “Ah, so, I guess you didn’t get our shopping list?”

Erwin closed the door behind him and leaned against the car, his right hand coming up to rub over his face. “Yeah… don’t think so.” He looked over at Levi, and something about the bleakness in his expression set off warning bells in Levi’s head. Erwin must have picked up on that, as he pushed away from the car and strode forward, toward the porch. “We need to talk.”

“Oh yeah, that never bodes well.” Hange glanced back and forth between Erwin and Levi with her hands held up. “Okay, I think I have a batch of smallpox I should go play with, you boys have fun.”

She turned around to leave, and upon opening the door she called out to Eren. “Heya, hon, I don’t think you want to be here right now. Grumpy grown-up talk time.”

Levi gritted his teeth together as he waited for Erwin to reach the porch. “This isn’t going to be something good, is it?” He thought that he picked up on the aura of death surrounding his friend.

Something dark passed over Erwin’s face as he shook his head. “No, it isn’t.” Erwin’s gaze went past Levi toward the house, probably toward the open door – toward *Eren*, and darkened. “Not at all.”

Just wonderful. Levi spun around and stalked back inside, where he grabbed onto his nosy lover’s arm and hauled him toward the kitchen. “Thought I told you to stay inside.”

“I did – I didn’t go out!” Eren’s face sharpened with anger and he attempted to dig in his heels for a moment before being dragged along by Levi. “What’s going on?”

“That’s what we’re about to find out.” Levi glanced behind him to make sure that Erwin was tagging along, and noticed a displeased expression on his friend’s face. “What?”

“You may not want Eren here for this.”

“Huh?” He felt Eren’s magic flare at that statement even as he pushed Eren into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. “Why not?”

“Yeah, why not?” Now Eren appeared surly, his brows drawn over his gorgeous eyes and his hands shifting into claws. “It’s about the other shifters, isn’t it?”

Despite Levi’s teasing claims that Eren didn’t have much of brain, the brat picked up on things. “What happened?” Levi demanded to know, well aware that Mikasa and Armin would be barging in any second now. As it was, Petra hurried over to the coffee machine to pour a cup for Erwin.

In the bright light of the kitchen, Erwin looked even more like shit; there were tears in the fancy wool coat of his as well as dirt marks, and he looked aged about ten years or so. As Petra handed him a cup of coffee, Hange, Mikasa and Armin sidled into the room. He acknowledge their presence with a weary grunt. “Gunther and Erd?”

“Out on patrol. I bet they’ll be back soon enough now that they sensed you,” Levi told him. “What’s going on? Why do you look like warmed-up shit?”

“And what don’t you want to tell me?” Eren wanted to know.

Erwin paused to drink about half of the coffee before he answered. “Mike and Nanaba are dead.”

At first Levi didn’t make any sense of the words; Mike had been with Erwin for longer than he had, was such a powerful were that it didn’t seem possible anyone could take him down. Then there was a loud curse from Hange, part rage and part anguish, that brought home what Erwin had just said. “Wait, they’re dead?”

Erwin nodded even as he held out his left arm toward Hange, which the blood witch accepted as she hurled herself toward him. “Yes.” He closed his eyes as he bent his head toward Hange and gave her a hug. “It was the shifters – we tracked them down to Dita’s place.”

Again, it took a few seconds for the impact of what Erwin had just said to reach Levi, as shocked as he was that Mike and Nanaba were gone, and then Levi was almost numb from the surge of intense panic and rage he felt upon hearing that the shifters had found the earth mage. One moment he was standing there by the counter, and the next he wanted to throttle Erwin, to choke the life out of the man – except Eren was standing in front of him.

“What’s wrong?” Eren was out of the chair and staring up at him with golden eyes and potent magic, hands held up against Levi’s chest. “What’s- what’s wrong?” His magic flared again, and Mikasa made a choking sound.

“Eren! Please!”

Eren moaned and shook his head as he clutched at his head. “I’m sorry! It’s- too much pain! Too much… too much!” Eren’s magic flared as if a fire doused with a potent fuel, furious and out of control.

Eren. Levi knew something was going on with Eren, but right then all he could think about was Isabel, Isabel and Farlan, so he rested his right hand against Eren’s cheek for a moment and then went around him, leaving his lover gasping for air as he charged toward Erwin. “You promised!” He swung his fist, the hand still warm from the heat Eren radiated and potent sense of magic, at Erwin’s face… and the bastard didn’t dodge it.

“Sir!”

“Levi!”

“Eren!”

Hange pulled him away from Erwin as the bastard rocked back from the punch, unsteady on his feet, before Levi could swing at him again. “What the hell are you doing? Have you lost your mind?”

“What about Isabel and Farlan?” Levi shouted at Erwin as he ignored Hange. “What about them?”

Erwin dabbed at his bleeding lip and shook his head. “I don’t know!” Guilt clouded his face as he looked up at Levi. “He was dead when we got there, so I don’t know! They might have found out about them… I don’t know for certain.”

“You don’t know?” Levi focused on his power, on how easy it would be to shred Erwin’s soul, to make his flesh rot away. “One thing I asked of you when you tracked me down all those years ago, when you dragged me into this shitty organization of yours! Give Isabel and Farlan a chance, to not have any of the damn magic organizations use them up and spit them out, and you said you’d do it. You *promised* me!” he hissed. “And now they’ve got a target on them?” Behind him there was a painful moaning sound. “How long until they’re dead? How long until-“ Something white and glowing whipped out and wrapped around him, and as caught up in his anger as he was, as battered as his senses were by Eren’s magic, he didn’t realize what they were until too late. Mikasa’s threads wound about him as if he was a fly in a web, and he cursed as he was tied up and dragged to the floor.

Mikasa loomed over him, her eyes shining so brilliant a silver that they cast shadows on her face, a dark aura around her as her magic burned the strongest that Levi had ever sensed it. “Stop it. *Stop it*. You’re breaking *him*!” She lashed out with her right foot and knocked Levi over onto his other side; it took a couple of seconds for him to regain his senses after the blow and realize that the furry, huddled figure on the floor a few feet away was Eren. His lover had shifted into some hybrid feline form, his clawed hands pressed against his head as he mumbled something over and over again with Petra and Armin both kneeling at his side. “Eh-eren?”

There was motion beside him, and then Hange squatted next to him. “He was starting to drain us, did you know that?” She sounded as if she was discussing an experiment even as her hands dug into her arms hard enough it had to hurt. “Right when you went on your so helpful little rampage. Thankfully it only lasted a second or two, but your rage… it’s doing something to him.” She gave him one of the most disgusted looks he’d ever seen from her, and never once directed his way. “You done losing your shit now? Because we just lost three more friends, and I refuse to have you take out two more.”

“I’ll crush him in an instant if he hurts Eren any longer,” Mikasa warned.

“Yeah, that might not be helping.” Hange informed the psycho before she turned her attention back on Levi. “Look, I know it’s not good, what Erwin just said. But *focus*,” Hange hissed out as she grabbed onto Levi’s hair. “You losing your mind? How much you want to bet it’s just what those bastards want?”

Levi took as deep a breath as he could with the fucking threads wrapped around him and nodded despite the hold that Hange had on his hair. “Let me go,” he demanded of Mikasa.

“I don’t think-“

“Let him go,” Armin echoed from over by Eren. “I think he can help if he’s done raving like a lunatic.”

Mikasa made a frustrated growl as she gestured with her hands, and the threads vanished in thin air. As soon as they were gone, Hange assisted Levi in standing up, and once he was on his feet he lurched toward Eren; he could still feel that wildly burning magic, as if it was reaching out in desperation for something to drain yet was denied only by the strength of Eren’s will.

Eren was shivering as he huddled into himself, body slightly shrunken and covered in a fine golden fur striated with dark brown lines, his ears elongated and golden eyes grown huge. He stared off at nothing as he kept chanting ‘no’ over and over again, and the gentle touches of Armin and Petra didn’t seem to break through to him. Levi nodded to Petra as he took her place and gave a nervous touch along his lover’s now angular cheek. “Eren?”

That seemed to cause a slight pause in the litany of ‘no’s, so Levi took a deep breath and slid his arms around Eren’s shoulders. “Come on, brat. Relax a little. It’s okay.” He felt Eren tense against him as if to pull away, and then there was a deep sigh as Eren relaxed and a flare of magic, then Eren was back in his human form against him, quiet and appearing half-asleep.

“Oh thank the Fates,” Armin murmured as he brushed aside the hair falling onto Eren’s face, then he glared at Levi and smacked him on the side of the head. “Don’t ever do that to him again!”

“What the fuck!” Levi scowled at the suicidal idiot and was about to smack him back when Eren moved in his arms.

“No more anger. It hurts.” He clutched at his head as he attempted to pull away from Levi, only to be jerked back.

“Okay, I get the fucking point,” Levi muttered as he sank down on the floor with Eren between his legs. He glanced aside as he rubbed at Eren’s nape. “Sorry.” The word came out in a rush and barely more than a whisper, yet Armin seemed to hear it as well and appeared placated.

“I think Eren’s overloaded at the moment – dealing with both of your emotions and reining in his talent can’t be easy.” The slight smile on the alchemist’s face faded into something stern as he looked at Levi. “Give him a break for a few hours, especially after such a trying day.”

“It wasn’t-“ Levi took a deep breath when he felt Eren stir against him. “Wasn’t like I did it deliberately.” He stared first at Armin, then at Mikasa before he searched out Erwin, who had pulled out a chair so he could sit down; the mage was still dabbling at his lip, this time with a wet cloth that someone, probably Petra, had fetched for him. “What the fuck do we know about these shifters?” He did his best to keep his emotions as stable as possible as the concern for Isabel and Farlan returned.

Erwin set the damp and bloody cloth aside. “Just that they’ve been tearing through our organization looking for information, and that they found Dita. Mike, Nanaba and I….” He took a second to close his eyes and shake his head. “We found the Reiss mage who created some of the group’s charms and got a lot of helpful information about Hitch from him, which is how we came across them and Dita.” Then Erwin laughed, the sound bitter and hollow. “Not that it did much good. They shifted into… I’d never seen anything like it before. They were things out of the past, were a gryphon and a harpy.” Eren stirred again at the mention of the shifters. “I only survived because I… lost control of myself.” Erwin appeared a bit ashamed just then. “I did manage to land a curse on Hitch, though, so if she’s not dead, she’s seriously hurt.”

“Oh, that’s a nasty bit of magic right there,” Hange commented as she poured herself some coffee. “As is what those shifters did. No wonder Mike and Nanaba didn’t stand a chance.” There was an analytical edge to her voice that pissed the hell out of Levi, but he knew it was Hange’s way of dealing with things, of pushing past the pain of losing two friends.

“Gryphon… that’s nothing,” Eren grumbled. “Child’s play.” His right hand came up from where it had been curled around Levi’s waist and waved about in the air for a few seconds.

Despite the severity of the situation, Armin appeared amused at his friend’s antic while Mikasa sank down near them to hold out a mug of tea to Eren. “Yes, you’ve done more impressive things with your chimera, I must say.” Then he turned serious once more. “Why are they doing this now, I wonder? Why didn’t they fight in such powerful forms before?”

“I don’t know, and that worries me as well,” Erwin admitted. “Maybe they didn’t except to lose to us that time and are growing serious now.”

“Who are Isabel and Farlan?” Mikasa waited until Eren drank some of the tea to look up at Levi. “Why are they more important to you than Eren?”

Petra gasped out loud at the question while Hange whistled, and Levi wanted to shove the meddling pest aside, especially when he felt Eren’s magic sputter at the question. “They’re not… they’re family,” he growled at her. “We go way back – Isabel’s like a sister to me, and Farlan’s a good friend. They got married a few decades ago.”

There was silence at that announcement, and then Mikasa grunted. “Then you go off and save them, and leave Eren to us.”

“Mikasa!” Armin stared in what appeared to be embarrassment at his friend, while Eren pressed back against Levi. As for Levi, he dug his fingers in Eren’s hair and hugged his lover against his chest.

“Fuck that!” He had to take a slow breath when he felt Eren wince at his anger -anger at the thought of his old friends needing saved and at abandoning Eren. “I hate to say it but Hange’s right, we’re just playing into those bastards’ hands if we rush into things.” Now that he had calmed down somewhat, he realized that racing off to where Isabel and Farlan were hiding could be one big trap – either to reveal where his sister and friend were hiding if Dita hadn’t revealed the location or to possibly reveal the lodge’s location if the shifters had narrowed down the general location and were keeping an eye out for anyone leaving in a hurry. It didn’t make it any less painful to just sit here, though. Fuck, but Erwin better be able to come up with some sort of a plan.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed the way that Erwin’s face had grown shuttered as he spoke, which made his chest tighten with fear; Erwin wasn’t saying anything, wasn’t going all ‘leader’ on them. Something was wrong. Erwin was holding something back… which wasn’t good. Levi stared at his friend, and all Erwin did was give him a slight shake of his head, a clear sign that he wasn’t going to say anything right now. Wasn’t going to say anything in front of everyone else. Levi tightened his hold even more on Eren as that sinking sensation grew, worried just what it was that Erwin didn’t want to say in front of everyone else. “We’re not going to let them play us,” he insisted even as he despaired of what his friend was holding back.

“Sure, you say that now after you nearly took off Erwin’s head and hurt Eren,” Mikasa reminded him as she stood up. “We’ll see.”

“Mikasa… you’re not helping.” Armin tugged her away. “It was a shock.”

“He needs to remember about the link with Eren,” Mikasa muttered, but she allowed herself to be tugged aside, probably because Eren had finished the tea and gave her a weak glare as he handed over the empty mug.

Meanwhile, Petra came toward Levi with two more mugs of tea. “I think Eren could use another one and you some as well,” she offered as she held them out. Levi accepted his with a slight smile, and nudged Eren until he held out both hands.

“Thanks.”

Petra responded with a tearful smile. “You’re welcome. I can’t… can’t believe that Mike and Nanaba are gone.”

“Yeah.” Hange finished checking Erwin’s lip then gave him a pat on the cheek. “I think it’s time to break out the whisky – we can’t have a proper wake but we need to have something.” Her voice choked on the last couple of words.

“A few shots won’t hurt,” Erwin agreed. He once more exchanged a quick glance with Levi before looking aside. “Then we’ll have to discuss our next moves.”

Yeah, and after Levi managed to get Eren to bed, along with his annoying sister and best friend, he would have a nice long talk with Erwin about what his friend was holding back – even if he had to have Hange control his blood pressure or something to keep from setting off Eren’s talent or disturbing their link. Because something had happened with those shifter bastards other than killing three good friends, and Levi knew it had something to do with Eren, something that he was *not* going to like.

He took a sip of his tea, while tucked against him, Eren was unusually quiet and seemed to be staring into his second mug of tea. “Oi, you should drink that,” Levi chided. Armin was right, they had put the poor brat through the wringer today – the last two, really, and now this.

“Okay.” Eren barely reacted to Levi’s command and didn’t look at him, he just gave a soft sigh before he lifted the mug to his lips, his magic as ‘dormant’ as Levi had ever felt it and expression resembling one of weary resolve. Levi was left confused about the change in his lover’s behavior and about to ask him what was wrong, but it was then that Hange returned to the room with a bottle of whisky in hand, along with Gunther and Erd trailing behind her.

He sighed as he prepared for Erwin to tell the rest of his team the bad news, and hoped that this time, there was a better explanation as to what was really going on.

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eehhhh... I really like Mika and Nanaba, I do! But it is SnK. Still, always feel so bad about doing in these characters....


	10. Our doubts are traitors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's time for another chapter! This one... this one I was like, okay, I'm done. No, wait, another scene. I'm done. No, wait, another scene. So you get a nice long one for this week. I hope you enjoy it.  
> I also hope next week's will be out on time, this one (other than the whole 'add two more scene' thing, was done rather fast for all its length) because I've got one or two things that need to be worked on, so fingers crossed.  
> And wow, thank you so very much for all of the comments for the last chapter. Very grateful for them - they and the kudos are always appreciated.

*******

“And the time he pranked that one animal control officer back in Rose. You remember that?” Hange laughed as she reached for the bottle of whisky. “Oh my – the poor guy pissed himself!”

“I remember how we had to hit him with an amnesia spell afterward,” Erwin murmured, a slight smile on his face as he raised his shot glass in a toast.

Yeah, great, they had reached the ‘wasn’t that a fun time’ part of the mini-wake, so Levi figured he might as well haul Eren up to their bedroom since he wasn’t getting any answers for the foreseeable future. “Come on,” he told his lover, who was still curled up against his chest. “I’ve had enough sitting on this damn floor.” At least it was clean, thanks to Eren being trapped in the house for most of the day.

Eren didn’t say anything, just continued to clutch the empty shot glass he held in his right hand against his chest as he stared straight ahead; the whole silent treatment thing was starting to get on Levi’s nerves. “Oi, what the fuck is wrong?” he demanded to know as he used the arm wrapped around Eren’s waist to haul the brat onto his feet.

Within an instant, Mikasa and Armin flanked either side of him, Armin reaching out to take the shot glass from Eren while Mikasa pried at Levi’s arm around her brother. “We’ll take him from here,” she informed Levi, sparks of silver in her eyes as she gave him a narrow look. “He’s tired and doesn’t need any more badgering.”

“What? How is-“

Eren pulled away from Levi as he shook his head. “I wanna go with Mikasa.”

Stunned at hearing his lover speak for the first time in… what, almost half an hour? Levi stared in confusion as Eren shuffled over to his sister. There was a look of great satisfaction on the pain in the ass’ face as she wrapped her arms around her brother. “Come on, you need some sleep.”

Armin was quick to close flanks. “And I have a potion that should help your head – don’t worry, this one won’t be too bad,” he soothed as he stroked his right hand over Eren’s mussed hair. “It’s mostly herbal, and nothing nasty.”

Everyone else was silent at the three of them shuffled out of the kitchen, Eren sandwiched between his best friend and sister as they fussed over him. Levi clenched his hands as something dark twisted inside of him, something that made him want to reach out with his talent and shove those two aside, or to station a spirit in the bedroom to watch over Eren. He didn’t like Eren being out of reach like this, not when things were so uncertain, when those fucking shifters were doing their best to take everything away from him, take anything that ma-

“Here.”

“Fuck!” He nearly jumped when Hange handed him a mug of what smelled to be spiked coffee. “What is this shit?”

“Something a little stronger than your usual poison – we need to get down to business now that the kiddies have gone to bed.” Her expression turned grim as she headed back to the table.

Erwin nodded at Petra, who sat with a half-empty mug held between her small hands. “Put up an air ward, please. I don’t want to risk Armin or Mikasa overhearing this.”

She drew in a sharp breath as if surprised by the request, but her eyes flared green as she obeyed the order. “It’s done.”

“Good.” Erwin motioned for Levi to join them at the table. “Now then, I believe there are things that need to be discussed, yes?”

“Damn right there are.” Levi nearly slammed the mug onto the table as he sat down. “What are you hiding from us – from *me*? And don’t tell me that you came back from Dita’s without something for me to use so I can find out for certain what those bastards dragged out of him.”

There was a slight smile on Erwin’s lips as he unbuttoned his dark blue shirt and reached into it to pull out something – a torn and dirtied white bandana. “This is the only thing I didn’t burn to ash from the place.” Hange’s breath hitched as he handed it over to Levi, probably because she recognized it. “I assume you can use it?”

Levi made sure to take a good swallow of the spiked coffee before he accepted it. “Something Dita wore all the time? Yeah, that’ll work.” There were even a few drops of blood on it, as well as sweat stains - it would work rather well; he pushed aside any disgust he would normally feel at touching such a thing as he leaned back in the wooden chair – then something occurred to him. “Hange, do what you can to control my body’s reactions, all right?”

“Huh?” She scooted her chair closer to his even as she gave him a confused look, at least until he pointed upstairs. “Oh! Yeah, Eren. Not sure how much that’ll work since he feels both your magic and your emotions.”

“It’s worth a fucking try,” Levi gritted out as he allowed her to latch on to his free arm. Meanwhile, Erwin got up from the table and summoned several balls of hellfire.

“Let me put up a temporary ward, perhaps that’ll lessen the sense of your magic,” he offered. “I’d rather not alert the three of them to what we’re doing.”

“Whatever.” Levi held on to Dita’s bandana as he did his best to calm his emotions, which wasn’t helped by the thought that Eren had been so withdrawn, his magic so ‘shutdown’, ever since Erwin had come back with the news of what had happened to Dita, Mike and Nanaba. Some of that might have been the shock of losing more friends and then struggling with his talent, but Levi had to wonder if Eren was upset with him. Dammit, it wasn’t as if *he* could sense Eren’s emotions, all he had to go on was Eren’s magic and that wasn’t telling him shit right now.

Erwin played with his magic for a minute or two and then nodded. “All right, it’s set up.”

Hange nodded as well. “Your heartbeat is stable and breathing is good – I’ll keep ‘em steady and hopefully that’ll help prevent your emotions from spiking too much.” Then her mouth twisted. “Maybe. Who knows?”

“You’re a ray of fucking hope,” Levi told her before he opened up to his magic and closed his eyes. Almost immediately he got a sense of Dita’s death – it was like Erwin had said, that bitch Hitch had used the poor guy’s soul to form a poltergeist and hadn’t attempted to shred it into oblivion as she had with the others. While it took some effort on his part to ‘calm’ Dita’s soul down so he could make any sense out of the memories attached to it, Levi could do it without wasting too much time.

The first dive in dealt with, surprise, surprise, a shitload of pain. ‘Tell them nothing, tell them nothing, tell them-‘ Levi grit his teeth together and did his best to remain calm as he pushed aside the images of looming monsters and Hitch’s smug-ass face. Time to jump ahead a little more.

‘Fuck, what was in that potion? What did they give me? What was- ah! No, focus past the pain… what the hell did they do to my magic?’

Levi’s fingers dug into the palms of his hands as he fought past the intense agony and shook his head, his breathing even despite the strain of the memories and magic. Just a little further to go, that shit about the potion was *not* good.

‘No, no, so sorry, so… ahh… sorry. Erwin… Levi… sorry.’

“Fuck!” Levi dropped the bandana as he scrubbed his hands over his face and through his hair. “They used some shitty potion to break the geas and got the location out of him!” Now that Hange was no longer touching him, he could feel his heart begin to race and did his best to even out his breathing before he set off Eren again.

Erwin let out a muttered curse as he extinguished the balls of hellfire. “Dammit, it’s as bad as I feared.”

“What are we going to do now?” Erd glanced back and forth between Erwin and Levi as if waiting for some sort of explosion. “Do we go after Isabel and Farlan?”

“Fuck!” Levi jumped out of the chair so quickly that it fell back onto the floor, which made Petra gasp and Gunther swear. “I can’t… we have to do something!”

Hange grabbed his neglected mug of spiked coffee from the table as she lunged toward him and shoved it in his face. “Look, drink this and chill your ass, okay?” As he stared at her in shock, she all but shoved him into the chair that Erd had righted back onto its feet. “The last thing we need is you going all crazy again and making Eren drain the entire house dry, okay? And you,” she turned on Erwin. “You’re the brains here, at least when it comes to sneaky shit, so tell us you’ve got some sort of plan.” She folded her arms over her chest and tapped her left foot. “Well?”

“Oh fuck, we’re all dead,” Gunther moaned. “I don’t know which one is going to start killing people first.”

“Shut it,” Petra hissed at him as she got up to fetch the rest of the coffee. Meanwhile, Levi glared at Hange while he did his best to keep a poltergeist from forming, he was that upset at the moment.

Deep breaths, he told himself. Don’t set off Eren. Don’t kill the crazy lunatic. Don’t go running straight into a trap. Don’t… just don’t. “Erwin, start speaking before I break bones.”

Erwin’s eyes flashed incandescent for a couple of seconds before he bowed his head and accepted a mug of coffee from Petra. “Thank you,” he murmured and seemed mesmerized by the steam rising from the dark liquid. “I… okay, let’s try this.” He took a sip and winced a little, either from the coffee being bitter as fuck or hot, or maybe because Levi had landed one hell of a hit earlier, then he reached into the front pocket of his shirt for his phone. “Let’s hope it turns out better than last time – it is encrypted and they didn’t think to take Dita’s phone.”

“Huh?” Levi swallowed the last of his beverage and watched as Erwin tapped on his phone and held it out as if it was on speaker. It rang a couple of times and then there was a sleepy and all too familiar voice on the other end.

“Uhm, hello?”

Levi was out of the chair again in an instant, his heart pounding as he attempted to snatch the phone out of Erwin’s hand. “Isabel? Fuck, Isabel, are you all right?” Erwin shook his head and held him at arm’s length with the mug of coffee.

“Levi?” All sleepiness left Isabel’s voice as she shouted out his name. “Levi, is that you? What are you doing, calling like this? How are you? What-“

“Isabel, this is Erwin.” The asshole’s deep voice cut through her excited questions. “I’m very sorry to spring a call like this on you, but something is happening, and I need to make sure that you and Farlan are all right.”

“Eeeh? Something’s happening? Is Levi okay? One sec.” It sounded as if there was something happening on the other end of the phone for a couple of seconds. “We’re both fine, aren’t we?”

“Levi, what the hell is going on?” Levi’s knees trembled for a couple of seconds as he heard his friend’s voice come through, that touch of waspiness when Farlan was worried but trying to mask it with annoyance. “We don’t hear from you in person for decades and you call when weird shit is going on?”

The relief Levi felt upon knowing that his adopted sister and best friend were alive was jolted by that last statement. “Wait, what the fuck do you mean? What ‘weird shit’?”

There was an irate growl from Isabel, one he knew so well from the years he’d raised her, had got on her to practice her spells and wards. “Oh, *that again*. I want to talk to Levi, not go on about some stupid bird,” she grumbled.

“Izzy…” There was some more sounds, as if they fought over the phone. “We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere, I notice this stuff,” Farlan said after the scuffling died down. “There’s this crazy bird outside of our house, a golden wing hawk.”

“You’re such a geek!”

“Izzy!”

Levi frowned at Erwin as he wondered what the hell this had to do with anything, and nearly made Hange’s flesh rot off when she shoved him aside. “Wait, aren’t those limited to the southern provinces? I, ah, take it you’re not stashed away there?”

“No! Finally, someone who understands. A hawk like that shouldn’t be anywhere near here, let alone sitting in a tree all evening long when I spotted several tasty treats nearby that it should have gone after. It’s like it’s… watching us, or something.” Farlan sounded nervous.

“He even had me cast an air ward, as if the thing can hear us,” Isabel complained. “I think he’s losing it, Levi. Too much time spent reading. Are you coming to visit? Or can we visit you? Please tell us that’s why you called! I want to see you! It’s nice here but it can get boring, too.”

Levi shook his head as he tried to figure out how to tell the two people he cared about so much that it sounded as if those bastard shifters had tracked them down. “Listen, that’s not a bird,” he managed to get out past a throat gone tight with fear.

“No, it’s not.” Erwin made as if to start pacing and then stopped as if he remembered about the phone in his hand. “You know about shifters, correct?”

“Eh?”

“Yes, rare individuals born every couple of centuries who can assume any shape. Ignore my wife’s ignorance, but what does this have to do with… what, that’s a *shifter* out there?” Farlan sounded incredulous while Isabel started to laugh.

“Indeed it is. It’s one of several, and I’m afraid they’ve targeted you because… well, we’ve taken into our… protective custody a shifter who has a rather unique ability and they want him back.” Erwin closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them he was staring straight at Levi. “In fact, they gave me an ultimatum of sorts earlier today after they tortured your location out of Dita – for us to hand over Eren, the shifter we’re protecting or else they’ll keep killing.”

There was silence for several heartbeats, and then both Hange and Petra reached for Levi. “Don’t!” Hange shouted, while Petra seemed to gasp out a strangled “Sir!”.

There was a flash of rage, of disbelief that anyone could be so fucking stupid as to insist that he turn over Eren, that, that- “Get off of me!” Levi attempted to shrug off the two women, but they held on like leeches, especially Hange. He could feel her magic wrap around him, feel it do something to him, and that shock helped to jolt him out of his building homicidal rage.

“Think about Eren,” she whispered. “Don’t lose it again!”

“I *am*,” he snarled as he managed to shove her away. Meanwhile, there was a commotion on the other end of the phone.

“What’s going on? Where’s Levi? Is he all right?”

“What the hell do you mean, they’ll kill us? And who is this ‘Eren’?”

Erwin’s gaze raked over Levi as it to make sure he was all right before he looked down at the phone. “Levi’s fine, he just needed a minute to accept the fact that both his family and his lover are being threatened.”

There was another moment of silence, during which Erd made an exaggerated wince and Gunther buried his head beneath his arms; meanwhile, Hange actually snaked her arm out to smack Erwin on the back before she threw her hands up in the air.

“I will kill you,” Levi ground out as he took a step forward.

“Temper,” Erwin warned as he motioned above them, appearing back to his normal, evil sense for the first time that night.

“Wait, *what*? Lover? Levi has a boyfriend? Oh, Brother, I am *so* happy for you! What’s he like? Is he cute? He has to be- ack!”

“Not now, Izzy.” Farlan sounded stressed, and in the background Isabel could be heard calling him mean. “Could we please focus on the ‘kill’ part? What happened to Dita? He’s dead?”

“Yes.” The slight smile on Erwin’s face faded into nothing. “The shifters – there’s three of them that we know about, along with a necromancer – tortured your location out of him and then killed him.” Erwin took a deep breath as he set the mug aside then pinched the bridge of his nose with his left hand. “They’ve targeted our organization as well as Reiss in order to get at Eren, Levi’s lover. He’s a shifter as well, and… it’s complicated. Let’s just say that it would not be wise to hand him over to them.”

“We’re not doing it.” Levi once more dug his nails into his palms in order to rein in his temper. “No fucking way.”

“Aw, you really do care for him, don’t you, Bro?”

“Izzy….” Farlan sighed over the phone. “So what are we going to do about the one outside our wards? We’re fine as long as we don’t leave them, right?”

“No,” Levi spat out. “They can break through them at any time and you won’t know a thing.” Fuck. *Fuck*.

Hange stopped glaring at Erwin long enough to give Levi a reassuring pat. “Yeah, but they haven’t done anything yet, have they? We said it’s a trap, and the thing about a trap is, you leave the bait out long enough to attract your prey.” She followed up the pat with a shake to his arm. “*Think*, Grumpy. Why is the shifter just sitting there watching? Why isn’t it all three of them? Why not take a hostage while they’re at it?” When he glared at her for the last question, she held up her hands. “Okay, enough hypothetical shit.”

“No, Hange’s right about this,” Erwin agreed as he once again seemed to be his evil, plotting self. “I should have thought about it when I realized we fought two shifters and not three. If they wanted to wipe out everyone who arrived to look into Dita’s silence, it would have been better if all three of them were there and *then* they could have gone after Isabel and Farlan. They wanted me to deliver the message, so they’re waiting to see what happens. We have some time.”

Levi tugged on his hair as he attempted to make his brain work; it was so difficult to step away from everything and put the pieces together when he was too involved, when part of him wanted to rush off to protect Isabel and Farlan and the rest of him wanted to be upstairs near Eren. “Fuck. So what do we do? We go running to the rescue, that’s putting Eren in their hands.”

Erwin nodded. “I’m willing to bet that they’re hoping to draw you, Eren’s strongest protector, away from him by a threat aimed at you. At the least, they’ve weakened our defenses even if Eren remains here, and we don’t know if there’s a way for them to use the bond between you to track him down if you fall into their hands.”

“Eh, what bond? What is he talking about?”

Levi ignored Isabel’s question. “That’s if they get their hands on me.” He summoned some of his magic to him before he remembered about Eren.

“Ahem.” Hange waved her hands between Erwin and Levi’s line of sight. “Don’t forget about the anti-ward potion Armin and I whipped up. Methinks that those bastards are in for a surprise, the next time we run into each other.” She smiled at them, an expression that had too much teeth in it to be pleasant.

Erwin nodded in acknowledgement. “Yes, so this is what I propose – Gunther and Erd, if you won’t mind, I believe I have a job for you.” The two of them stopped pretending to do their best to blend in with the woodwork and sat up, their attention focused on Erwin as he put together some nasty plot. “Hange will give you a couple of vials of the new potion, just in case, and you will go pick up Isabel and Farlan. Don’t bring them directly back here, I’ll have another safe house set up nearby where you can take them. Then we’ll see what happens.”

Levi grunted as he unclenched his hands and folded his arms over his chest. “You think those bastards are counting on us bringing them back here, don’t you?”

“I am willing to bet that they either expect you to go running off to save Isabel and Farlan, or for you to call them back to where you feel it’s safe, which is here, with Eren.” Erwin looked around the room and then shrugged. “Even if you don’t, they’ll still follow the two of them so they can force your hand at a later date. Sending Gunther and Erd to them will get them closer to us for protection and some of the anti-ward potion into their hands so it’ll be more even of a fight should the worst happen.”

“What does this potion do?” Farlan asked. “I’m following everything… well, most of it so far except for the potion part.”

“It breaks down this crystal shit they can create which lets them sneak past any wards as well as prevents you from landing a spell on them,” Levi explained. “Makes them fuck-all hard to fight, but the potion… it’s like throwing acid on them.” He wiped at his eyes as he remembered Eren’s reaction to it. “Eats through that ward and hurts like hell.”

“Well, that’s good.”

“Just keep in mind they might be shifted into a gryphon or a cockatrice or something just as improbable at the time,” Erwin warned.

“Well, that’s *not* good,” Farlan muttered, while Isabel said something about ‘burn those fuckers’. Levi had to smile at his sister’s spirit.

Meanwhile, Gunther had gotten up to put on a new pot of coffee while Erd came over to stand near Erwin. “When do you want us to leave?”

“I’m thinking the sooner the better.”

“Give us about half an hour to prepare and we’ll be on the road.” Then Erd ran a hand over his slicked-back hair. “Uhm, once you tell us where we’re going.”

Erwin smiled a little at the joke. “I can do that. Listen, Farlan, I want you and Isabel to start packing as well, don’t try to hide anything. I think it’s best if your observer sees that you’re going somewhere in case he’s in contact with the others – let them know that we’ve ‘taken the bait’ so to speak. If we’re correct, that’ll keep you safe while Erd and Gunther are on their way. Just do your best to collect anything that is tied to you and keep a watch over it, in case the shifter might try to sneak in and steal it.”

“That sneaky bastard!”

“Hush, Izzy. Damn, I didn’t think about that.” There was another weary sigh over the phone. “We’re going to have to torch the place, aren’t we?”

“I’m afraid so.”

Oh great, if Eren found out about this then Levi was *never* going to hear the end of it.

“Well, with luck the damn shifter will be in it when it goes up in flames,” Farlan grumbled, and Levi’s lips twitched to hear his friend’s familiar dark sense of optimism.

“Bah, it’s worth it when we get to see Levi again,” Isabel told her husband.

“I’m going to end this call now, do me a favor and wipe your phone,” Erwin ordered. “Gunther and Erd will contact you when they’re close, but we can’t take the risk of the shifter tracking this call.”

“Okay. Thanks for everything, and Levi, we *will* see you soon.” Farlan sounded determined about that.

“Yeah, Brother, no more avoiding us!”

Levi clicked his tongue as he shook his head. “Just don’t get yourselves killed,” he told them, right before Erwin ended the call.

The scent of coffee brewing was heavy in the air as Gunther and Erd moved about, busy gathering some supplies that would aid them during a long drive; Erwin was busy tapping on his phone, probably something to do with checking on the call or wiping traces of it. “Erd, see me before you leave so I can give you the address,” he called out to the water elemental.

“Okay.” Erd nodded once then turned toward Levi. “We’ll do everything we can to protect them, sir.”

“I know you will.” Levi had trained the two of them, and even if they were just half of his team, he knew the men were powerful and worked well together. “Be careful.”

“Yes, sir.” Erd nodded again before he left the room, probably to pack. Gunther finished putting some stuff in a small cooler and soon followed.

“Uh, what about me?” Petra asked as soon the coffee finished; she began to pour it into a thermos for her teammates.

“We still need some assistance here with the wards,” Erwin informed her. “Also, you’re the most skilled at air spells and it seems the shifters prefer to attack that way if they’re going to breach the wards.”

That seemed to appease her since she smiled. “Yes, I’ll work on strengthening them first thing in the morning, after I’m fully rested.” Resolve shone in her hazel eyes as she set the thermos aside. “I think I can put together something with Eren and Armin’s help.”

“Yeah, now that we got the anti-ward potion, it should help to reinforce our wards.” Hange rubbed her hands together as if in anticipation. “Sorry, Grumps, but we might just get to see some cute shifter tush after all, he’ll be breaking down that crystal stuff so much for us tomorrow.”

Levi scowled at the lunatic and nearly threw his empty mug at her as well. “You better not use him as a test subject again, or there will be one less target for those bastards.”

Hange laughed as she skirted around Erwin as if he’d protect her. “Aw, someone’s all tetchy since he’s been away from his snoogums for so long.” She laughed again when Levi made a choking sound. “I think he needs to go check on the cutie.”

“You may be right.” Erwin reached back to haul Hange out from behind him and then shoved her away. “Levi… go get some rest.” When Levi went to argue, Erwin held up his right hand, the phone still clutched in it. “No, go check up on Eren, all right?” There was some sympathy in his deep voice as he waved at the upper level. “We’ve done everything we can tonight, and I honestly believe that Isabel and Farlan are safe for now. That leaves Eren, so go make sure he’s fine.”

Levi was still for a moment before he clicked his tongue. “We’re not handing him over.” He wanted that fact to be perfectly clear, just in case it had been missed with all of the other stuff going on.

“No, we’re not.” Erwin stared off at the wall behind Levi, but Levi had the feeling that his friend was seeing something else just then, and it wasn’t good. “The shifters… they’re too powerful as is, right now. If we give them Eren… I’ve devoted my entire life trying to undo the unfair balance of power that already exists in our magical society.” He returned his gaze to Levi, his eyes lit up by an internal fire that had nothing to do with magical power. “I won’t let all that sacrifice and those made by our friends be in vain as something even worse takes its place.”

Of course Hange, the eternal devil’s advocate, had to say something just then. “But you’ll let Levi have access to that power?” She stood within reach of them both, a curious expression on her face as she removed her glasses to clean them with the hem of her sweatshirt.

“Hange!” Petra gasped as if offended by the question.

“You got a problem with me, shitty glasses?”

Hange smirked at Levi as she slipped on her glasses. “Not really, but I’m interested in finding out if Erwin does, now that you have the ultimate magical power source tucked up in your bed.”

Both of them turned their attention back at Erwin, who appeared more concerned with something on his phone than Hange’s question. “Levi? Not so much.” He sighed as he looked up. “Levi’s proven over time that power doesn’t concern him – there’s no way he’ll put it to use to take over everything because then he’d have to deal with people.” The right corner of Erwin’s mouth twitched as he spoke. “Too much of a hassle, and much too messy.”

And these people were his friends, Levi thought to himself as he gave Erwin the finger. “Fuck you, EB. I’m going to bed.”

Petra wished him a good night while Hange laughed, but Levi ignored them so he didn’t risk losing control of his temper and getting into a fight with Erwin. So what if he didn’t want to put up with any shit that went along with running things – he’d been happy with his quiet little home by the graveyard, the occasional mission and visit aside. If those Reiss bastards hadn’t have come along to ruin things, it would have been perfect.

When he reached his bedroom, he could feel Mikasa and Armin inside, their magic stronger than Eren’s. Forcing himself to take a deep breath and reminding himself that he was an adult and older than them by a century, he prepared himself for at least Mikasa’s shitty attitude and opened the door.

The overhead light was turned off in favor of the smaller one on the right nightstand as well as in the bathroom, and Mikasa was seated on the bed next to a sleeping Eren while Armin walked out of the bathroom a second or two after Levi entered the room.

“Ah, so you’re done with the plotting already,” Armin commented as he went over to the bed with a damp cloth in his hand, his tone polite but distant.

“Huh?” Levi blinked then shook his head. “We were drinking and talking about Mike and Nanaba.” There was no way that these two could have heard anything with Petra’s air ward up, and Erwin would have known if they had approached the kitchen.

“Yeah, whatever.” Armin didn’t seem to care, as his attention was directed at placing the cloth on Eren’s forehead.

“How is he?” Levi hurried to the bed, and had to go over to the other side since Mikasa and Armin were like a wall around Eren on the left; dammit, he knew they had grown up with his lover, but this was getting annoying. “He seems out of it.” Eren’s magic was the most ‘still’ that Levi had ever felt it.

Mikasa gave him a baleful look while Armin touched Eren’s face. “I slipped in a pretty strong sleeping draught when I gave him the potion to help with the pain,” Armin admitted. “I figured you weren’t anywhere near stable enough to keep your emotions or magic under control for the time being, and that’s the last thing he needed.” There was definite reproach in the alchemist’s voice and expression when he glanced at Levi. “He’s running a bit of a fever right now, which I think is a combination of him fighting with his magic to keep from draining us all dry and to burn off the draught.”

“He’s fighting himself because of you,” Mikasa pointed out, in case Levi hadn’t picked up on that. “Enough to hurt himself.” Her hands twisted in the blankets pulled up over her brother as if she was envisioning Levi’s neck between them. “You can’t keep doing this to him.” Her voice was haggard, and her eyes glowed with magic she must be fighting to control as well.

“I know!” Levi bit into his bottom lip as he struggled to keep his emotions in check, even if Eren was doped up as fuck. “How would you react if you heard that those bastards might have their hands on Eren, huh? Isabel and Farlan… they mean to me what you two mean to Eren,” he admitted with a voice gone rough. “I thought they were safe, that they were away from all this shit.” He reached out to comb his fingers through Eren’s sweat-damp hair. “So yeah, call it a fucking shock. I know better now.”

They both were quiet for what felt to be a minute or two while Levi stroked Eren’s hair, and then Armin sighed. “You know about the bond, and now you know how it can hurt Eren. I don’t think it’ll always be like that once the two of you… well, things like that need time. Eren needs time to learn how to block things, better control, stuff like that.” He sighed again as he smoothed the blankets over his friend’s chest. “Secrets don’t help, nor does stress.”

Levi scoffed as he palmed Eren’s cheek then frowned at the increased heat pouring off of his lover. “This whole shitty ordeal has been nothing but secrets and stress – it’s not going to get better until those bastards are dead.”

“He’s not even listening,” Mikasa muttered as she stood up. “Give my brother a break, all right? Start by *you* not stressing him out for a day, how about that?”

Levi wanted to tell her where to shove that attitude but she was already leaving, along with Armin, so he decided to just shut his mouth. As soon as they were out of the room, he went to the bathroom to get ready for bed, and after washing off and brushing his teeth, changed into a pair of pajama pants so he could climb into bed with his lover. Eren didn’t move at all, not even to do his usual clingy octopus impression, which just didn’t seem natural. Levi scooted closer and wondered if he should do something, maybe hold him close, and settled for draping his arm across Eren’s chest.

He could feel the heat radiating from his lover, and he could feel the magic resting inside as if waiting to be unleashed. “Huh, maybe your friend is on to something if this keeps you to your side of the bed,” he teased as he felt a sense of peace now that it was just the two of them. He still had to make amends for earlier and they had to figure out how to rescue Isabel and Farlan… but for now, somehow things seemed all right. Hoping that they would at least remain like that until morning, Levi allowed himself to fall asleep.

*******

Eren lay in bed with Levi sprawled out beside him, a faint snore along with a sense of exhaustion and peace he felt letting him know that Levi was fast asleep. He probably didn’t have much time since his lover was a light sleeper, so Eren began to shift ever so slowly, mindful with his talent so that his magic didn’t react too strongly and wake up Levi. As soon as he’d become small enough that there shouldn’t be a noticeable change in the sheets or weight on the mattress, he shifted into a large cat-like form and then wiggled slowly out of his clothes and the bedding.

Once his paws hit the floor, he padded toward the door, only shifting as he neared the chair where someone, Armin from the smell of it, had thrown his now clean robe. He picked it up but waited until he was outside to pull it on, too busy opening and closing the door as quietly as possible. It wasn’t until he was in the hallway and the door was closed that he dared to let out a full breath, Levi still asleep and not suspecting a thing.

So, he had one robe in his possession. What he really needed was to get downstairs and grab a few vials of the potion Armin had whipped up along with some sort of pouch to carry them in while he either flew or ran, since clothes weren’t a problem while he wore either fur or feathers. When he reached some sort of civilization then he’d have to figure something out, but he could always wait until nightfall and steal stuff. Hell, since wards were no longer a problem, the potential targets for him to break into were now doubled.

Mindful that someone might be up on patrol, Eren crept down the steps and toward the kitchen, the robe tied loosely shut around him in case he had to shift at any second. Get the potions, get something to put them in, maybe grab a quick bite since it would be best to travel all night, and then get the hell out of here. There was a pain in his chest at the thought of leaving Mikasa and Armin behind again, at leaving- no, just do what needed to be done, he told himself as he reached the kitchen. The potions should be stored in the laundry room, where he’d seen Armin put them right before dinner. They should-

The brush of familiar magic was the only warning he had before the lights went on.

“You know, I really, *really* was hoping you wouldn’t be this stupid,” Armin said from his spot on the kitchen counter, near the sink.

Meanwhile, Mikasa stood in front of the laundry door as if blocking Eren’s path, a furious look on her face. “Of course he’d do it, he had that same expression as back when you got hurt.”

“Well, I was sorta out of it back then, blood loss and all.”

Eren glared at the two of them as he tugged on the overlong belt of his robe and attempted to bluff his way out of this mess. “What are you going on about? I’m… I’m just here to get something to eat!”

Mikasa scoffed and shook her head. “Your ears always turn red when you lie, you do know that, right?”

Dammit, he always forgot about that. “And you two are paranoid,” he grumbled as he moved away from the door – he needed to get them out of here and fast, before someone – before *Levi* - woke up. “I just… I’m hungry, that’s all.”

“Yeah, sure you are. Probably want to make sure you have something to eat before you… hmm, fly? I bet you were planning on flying, considering how high up we are in the mountains.” Armin nodded as he jumped off of the counter, dressed in jeans and a warm sweater. “Flying all night would take a lot of energy, especially if you’re carrying something.”

“Something like supplies,” Mikasa added. She clenched her hands into fists as she stared at Eren, something akin to pain in her lovely dark eyes. “You really were planning on leaving us again?”

Eren jerked his hands through his hair as he debated if he should continue lying, and then let out a shaky breath. “They’re killing people, Mikasa. *Killing them*. How much longer until they track us down? I don’t….” Eren struggled to control himself before his magic did something he’d regret. “I don’t want to lose you.”

She pushed away from the door so she could grab onto his hands. “You *idiot*, so you think it’s better if you walk away from us? Abandon us?” Tears sparkled in her eyes. “As if that wouldn’t kill us as well, you leaving us again?”

He shook his head as the pain stabbed at his chest once more, as emotions caused a prickling sensation in the back of his throat. “They want *me*. If I go away, they’ll come after me and not you. So you’ll be safe then, that’s all that matters.” He started when he felt Armin touch his hair.

“So what, you thought you’d take the potion and fight them? That you’d win? Eren… even with the potion it’s three against one, four if you count that necromancer. It’s not the best odds.”

Eren pulled his right hand free so he could wipe at his wet eyes – when had he started crying? “It’s better than doing nothing! It’s better than just hiding here while they kill people because of me!” He had to shake his head and struggle with his emotions, with the anger and guilt and fear that threatened to let his control over his magic break. “They won’t expect it,” he tried to explain. “They won’t expect me to come for them, and they won’t expect the potion.” A small, wry laugh escaped him as he gazed at his sister and best friend. “No, I’m probably supposed to be given to them, right?” There was another sting of tears at the way that Armin’s mouth tightened and Mikasa’s hand clutched at his with enough strength to hurt. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“What makes you say that?”

Eren shook his head at Armin’s question. “Erwin didn’t want me there when he came back, and you don’t have to be a genius to tell that Mike and Nanaba… that all those people are dying because of me. That they’ll keep dying because of me.” He took a shuddering breath and pressed his hand against his eyes as he thought about how safe he’d felt at Levi’s house at first… and how it had all changed because of what he was. “It’s why I have to leave.”

Armin sighed as he gave Eren a hug and then looked at Mikasa. “We know they’re holding something back from us – not once did Levi ask if Erwin brought back anything for him to use his magic on, and things got too quiet when we took you upstairs.”

“You can tell when an air ward is being used for silence,” Mikasa agreed. “Not enough background noise.”

“Yes, so they are plotting something and don’t want us to know.” Armin chewed on his bottom lip while he glanced at the laundry room. “I’m willing to bet it has something to do with you and with Levi’s sister and brother-in-law.”

“Who I didn’t even know about.” A fresh wave of bitterness rose up in Eren as he thought about this ‘Isabel’ and ‘Farlan; yes, he hadn’t tried to pry too much into Levi’s past, but he’d at least told his lover about Mikasa and Armin, about the important people in *his* life. How come Levi couldn’t do the same? Had the trust only been on Eren’s side? “I think we know who’s more important.” Dammit, that caused another stab of pain.

Mikasa tugged him against her side and ran a hand along his arm in an attempt to soothe. “I won’t let him use you like that!”

“Neither of us will,” Armin agreed, then let out a slow breath as if he was trying to remain calm. “That’s why we agreed that if there’s going to be any running away, *we* are going to do it, the three of us.”

Eren blinked in shock at his friend’s words, and it began to sink in that the jeans that Armin was wearing, that Mikasa was wearing as well, were thick and meant for warmth and protection and not just comfort, along with their sweaters. That they had on rugged boots as well. “Uhm… but-“

“No ‘buts’,” Mikasa warned him with the tone she reserved for when she was tired of being argued with. “You left us behind before and look at the mess you ended up in.”

Yeah, kind of difficult to argue with that, Eren told himself as he winced. “I didn’t want to put you in danger,” he insisted.

“That might have been true before, but now we have the potion,” Armin reminded Eren with a slight smile on his face as he stepped away. “And with the three of us, it evens the odds – especially since Mikasa now knows she’s a necromancer.”

“But what if- ow!” Eren rubbed at his sore ribs, which Mikasa had just smacked. “Okay, fine, I get it, I’m not leaving without you.” He had some doubts about this whole plan, but yeah, short of him knocking out the two of them, which face it, *not* going to happen, they weren’t allowing him to leave alone. “How are we getting you past the wards?”

“You are,” Armin told him, and then stepped inside the laundry room. While Eren tried to figure out how he was slipping two adults past a series of magical wards, Armin came back into the room busy shoving several vials into his bag. “You just have to shift into a large enough shape with the two of us on your back and then cover us with your crystal ward. Probably won’t be pleasant for Mikasa and me, but it should work as long as we’re in close contact with you.”

‘Should’. Yeah, that was encouraging. Oh well, worse come to worst, Eren could change into a drake or a dragon and fly off real quick if they set off the wards. “You are my hero,” he muttered as they made to leave the kitchen.

“Then I shouldn’t bother with the clothes I packed for you, huh?” Armin smirked. “Or the snacks?”

Eren decided it was best if he just shut up and let his friend win this round; it didn’t help that Mikasa was smiling as if highly amused. “Let’s get your coats,” he told them with a weary sigh.

Considering the way the night was going, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when they crossed the foyer and found Hange sitting on the steps near the front door, a bit sleepy with her hair a rat’s nest and dressed in a robe even more worn than the one Eren was currently wearing. “Oh wow, all three of you? Armin, you’re breaking my heart.”

Mikasa shoved Eren behind her as threads trailed from her hands. “Just go back to bed.”

“Sorry, but I’m not going to sit here and watch you make the biggest mistake of your lives.” Hange pushed her glasses up with her right hand while her left hand, which had been tucked into the pocket of her robe, pulled out her phone. While Mikasa hissed and lashed out with her threads, the phone lit up and a piercing alarm went off.

“Dammit!” Mikasa’s threads knocked the phone aside with enough force that it shattered against the floor, while Eren grabbed at his friends and shifted into a bigger, stronger form. Fuck the wards, all he had to do was get them through the door and then shift into a form large enough to carry them away, far enough that Levi and the others couldn’t follow. He had almost reached the front door when a wall of hellfire blocked off access to it; he could still go through it with his crystal ward, but Mikasa and Armin couldn’t.

Armin let out a string of curses as he pulled something out of his pouch and threw it at the fire, which caused the blue flames to sputter out and begin to die. Yet before they could leap through the door, a force of cold and madness battered into them and drove them back into the foyer, knocked them off of their feet and sent them sliding across the stone floor.

“No you don’t!” Mikasa shouted as she rose up on her knees, her eyes shining pure silver and her hands held up as the poltergeists were pushed back enough to allow Eren to catch his breath and Armin to moan as he grabbed at his bag. Growling with a sudden fury when Mikasa let out a breathy gasp as she was toppled over, Eren began to shift, to let the rage and madness take over, to draw all the magic around to him and-

“Stop it!”

There was a touch, a hand on the nape of his neck, was anger and disappointment and fear and possessiveness and… and…

There was magic, cool and powerful and so familiar, so soothing and comforting.

Eren shook his head and sat down on his haunches with his tail curled around his hooves and paws as he attempted to figure out what was happening. He craned his long neck up and around to look at Levi touching him, then at Hange, Erwin and Petra standing a few feet away from a wary Mikasa and Armin before he whined.

“Brat… what the fuck are you?”

Armin groaned as he stood on his feet, his motions a little unsteady, and dusted off his hands. “That’s his chimera form. We tried it with the traditional three heads once, but he said it’s confusing, having three sets of eyes.”

“Wow, no wonder poor Mike and Nanaba didn’t stand a chance against those assholes.” Hange gaped in wonder at Eren as she took a cautious step forward, her expression hardening when Mikasa lunged into her path. “I just want to take a closer look at him.”

“Don’t-“

“Let her be,” Armin urged Mikasa as he placed a hand on her arm. “I doubt she’s going to do anything.”

“Like what, keep us trapped here?”

“More like keep the three of you from trying to kill yourselves!” Levi snapped, and his anger burned into Eren, prompting a painful hiss to snake out of his mouth, along with his reptilian tongue. He shook his draconian-shaped head back and forth a couple of times before he began to shift back into his human form.

“Aw, I wanted to study him a little longer! That was so fascinating, the meld of-“

“Give me your shitty robe,” Levi barked at Hange while he held out his left hand, his right still hovering around Eren as if to touch or latch on at any moment.

“Yeah, yeah, spoil the view, why don’t you.” Hange shrugged out of the garment and tossed it to him, leaving her standing there in a tank top and pajama pants. “And don’t think we’ve forgotten about you two, too.” She waggled her finger at Armin and Mikasa.

“Perish the thought,” Armin muttered as he set his back against the paneled wall of the staircase and slumped down a little as if exhausted. “Just had to wake up and check on us, didn’t you? I didn’t sense any wards.”

Hange made a scoffing sound as she watched Levi basically cram Eren into the robe with a little too much attention for Eren’s comfort – it was bad enough he was being treated like a child by his lover. A very, *very* furious lover. “Puh-lease, I remembered about Eren pulling a rabbit on you guys before, so I wondered if he’d do it again. Thought maybe Mikasa would tag along, but not all three of you.”

Eren felt Levi’s temper flare even hotter and winced at the sharp emotion, made to sidle away but got dragged closer to his lover for his efforts. “Wait – you suspected what these dumb fucks were going to do and didn’t say anything? I really should just shred your shitty soul right now!”

Even Erwin appeared rather pissed off just then. “I have to say, I’m a bit irate myself.” He folded his arms over his muscular chest and scowled at Hange, still appearing rather impressive despite the ruffled blond hair and like Levi was only wearing a pair of pajama bottoms, his pale blue instead of black – or maybe because of all that. “What if they’d managed to slip past you?”

Hange waved aside her friends’ concerns and tempers. “Right, that wasn’t going to happen, I warded the doors.”

“And if they hadn’t gone for the doors? If they went for a window?”

Hange made a low growl of frustration. “It doesn’t matter, they’re still here!”

“For now,” Mikasa snapped. “Or are you keeping us prisoner?” She turned to glare at Levi. “Are we your captives? Or just Eren?”

“No one is a prisoner,” Erwin insisted, his tone sharp and more than a little frazzled. “What makes you think that?”

“Maybe the fact that we were attacked when we tried to leave?” Armin pointed out.

“You were sneaking out in the middle of the damn night! That’s suspicious as fuck – of course we’re not going to wake up and be all friendly about things,” Levi argued.

“Not to mention that I’m willing to bet you have something very valuable in your possession.” Erwin combed his fingers through his hair as if in an attempt to restore it to order. “Did you take all of the potion with you?”

A hint of red spread across Armin’s cheeks yet he met Erwin’s gaze head on. “Not all of it, and it’s *my* potion to begin with – my potion and Eren’s. You wouldn’t have it in the first place without us.”

“I see.” Erwin bowed his head for a moment. “So what, the three of you were planning on leaving us and facing the other shifters on your own?” Eren grit his teeth as Levi’s hand on his arm tightened at the question. “You feel that is a wise course of action?”

Mikasa snorted as she fussed with the scarf hanging loose around her neck. “It’s clear that they’re coming for Eren one way or another. At least this way we meet them on *our* terms, not theirs… and not *yours*.”

“And what the fuck is that supposed to mean, eh?” Levi twisted about enough to face Mikasa. “What difference is there between ‘our’ and ‘yours’?”

Eren responded before his sister could, the bitterness that had been building inside of him ever since he’d heard about Isabel and Farlan spilling free. “Before you can hand me over for *your* fucking family,” he spat out. “*My* family is going to do something about them, is going to stop the… the killing.” His chest heaved as he struggled to breathe, to get air past all of the powerful, painful emotions that threatened to constrict it, the hurt and the shock and the confusion that battered at him, inside and out.

“Oh… Eren-honey, you really think that?”

“Sir?”

Levi stared down at him with grey eyes gone wide and that awful, potent shock pouring out, and then those eyes narrowed and Eren found himself all but picked up. “Don’t disturb us,” Levi barked out over Eren’s startled yelp as he headed up the stairs with Eren slung over his shoulders.

“Eren!”

“Ah, let them go this time,” Armin urged, while Eren could see large feet, probably Erwin’s, hurry to step aside.

“And shove some fucking clues into those two idiots’ heads!” Levi shouted as he all but ran up the stairs, seemingly unburdened by Eren’s weight. “Bunch of dumb, clueless fucks!”

Stunned by Levi’s actions and emotions, Eren was still for about a minute and then started to kick his feet. “Put me down!”

“Once we get to our room.” Levi smacked Eren hard on the ass, and then again when Eren began to shift. “Behave, or I will drop you on your head.”

“You’re such an asshole!”

“Yeah, it’s clear you really do think that.” Levi’s temper spiked just then, and a few seconds later they were in the room; Eren was thrown onto the bed where he bounced about while Levi locked and warded the door. “Now, start talking about that ‘asshole’ part.”

“You – oh!” Eren sputtered as he tucked the robe around him and attempted to get his thoughts in order; it was difficult to think straight with Levi’s emotions so potent and magic all but filling the room. “Just let me go!”

“No.” Levi dragged the chair from the desk across the room over to the bed and sat down on it with his legs crossed, as if he was conducting an interview or something equally banal instead of an interrogation. “You’re stuck here, deal with it.”

“Why?” Eren bared his teeth as he punched his hands onto the soft bed. “Need me to exchange for your sis-“

He never got to finish that, because Levi was out of the chair and looming over him, his right hand cupped around the back of Eren’s neck and his left pressed gently against Eren’s mouth. “I don’t *ever* want to hear you say that again, *ever*. I’m not handing you over to those bastards!” There was a punishing wave of fury, possessiveness and pain as Levi first pulled Eren against him and then pushed away. “Dammit, why would you ever think that?” Why would- shit!” He climbed onto the bed to grasp at Eren as Eren closed his eyes and fought against the pain and nausea that tore at him because of the emotions lashing inside of his head, everything jagged and sharp and too much to bear.

“When the hell are you going to learn to filter this shit?” Levi’s deep voice now sounded almost plaintive as he leaned back against the headboard with his legs stretched out and Eren held against his chest, his hands combing through Eren’s hair as if to soothe away the pain.

“Not… soon enough.” Eren sighed as the emotions over the link ‘smoothed’ out, the anger fading into guilt, apprehension and affection. “Hmm, nice.”

“Of course it is, this is better than you getting your ass kicked.” Levi clicked his tongue yet continued to play with Eren’s hair, and things were quiet for a couple of minutes; Eren could hear his lover’s heartbeat from where his head rested against Levi’s chest. “Why the fuck do you think I’m going to betray you?”

Upset at both the pain he felt from Levi and at being disturbed when things were so quiet, Eren attempted to shake his head but couldn’t both because of how it hurt and Levi’s hold on it. “Because.”

When nothing else followed after about a minute, Levi gave a sharp tug to Eren’s hair. “Not good enough – tell me why.”

Whining a little at having to explain when things were comfortable, Eren closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Levi’s waist. “You… you never said anything about them.” He frowned when he heard his lover’s heartbeat hasten and felt a stronger pulse of magic.

“You mean Isabel and Farlan?”

“Yeah.” Eren rubbed his cheek against Levi’s warm, muscular chest and wondered how much longer he’d be able to enjoy something like this, and frowned at the pain that thought raised. “Nothing at all, and then Erwin said their names and… you were so mad, so angry and afraid and….” He shook his head. “It was all your magic and your emotions, and I knew you’d do anything to get them back. And when Erwin wouldn’t look at me… well, I’m that ‘anything’, right?” The person Levi couldn’t even confide in.

“Br- *Eren*.” Levi’s hands cupped Eren’s face and made him tilt it up, then stroked below Eren’s eyes with his thumbs until Eren opened them. “I’m not giving you up.” He leaned forward until their foreheads were touching, his eyes intent upon Eren’s. “How the *fuck* can you sense my emotions and for one possible second imagine I’d do a thing like that?”

Some of Eren’s anger and sense of betrayal wavered at the hurt and possessiveness he felt over the link, along with that potent, searing emotion. “But… you… there was so much emotion, so much anger and you’re hiding something, you and Erwin.”

“Dammit, I need to kick his ass.” Levi sighed as he hauled Eren in closer and let go of his face to wrap his arms around Eren’s waist as if to keep him there. “Look, you’re right about us hiding something.” For a moment it appeared as if Levi debated something internally before he clicked his tongue. “Don’t lose your shit over this, okay?” When Eren glared at that, Levi gave him a smack on the ass. “Don’t argue, because tonight is *all* about you losing your shit.”

“It’s about me being proacti-ow!” Eren bared his teeth and shifted a pair of claws that he set against the asshole’s chest – which Levi ignored for some reason. “Fine.”

“And don’t pout.” A hint of a smile hovered on Levi’s lips before he let out a slow breath, his right hand skimming along Eren’s back to rest on the nape of his neck. “You’re right on one thing – those bastards did tell Erwin that they’ll keep killing our people until he hands you over to them. That’s what he didn’t want you hear.”

Eren stared at his lover as the words sunk in; even if he’d suspected them, if he’d been prepared to run away to spare more people dying for him, it still was an almost physical blow to know that more people would be sacrificed for him. “You… you have to let me go!”

Levi’s hand and arm tightened on him, and for some reason it was so difficult to fight against them. “No! Dammit, *think*! They want you to run, to leave behind the best protection you’ve ever had!” Levi dragged Eren toward him and gave him a kiss, one that caught him off guard both with its suddenness and passion, one that flooded him with emotions other than the guilt and panic that he felt until he began to settle down. “Think,” Levi whispered as he pulled away.

“I don’t want people dying because of me,” Eren whispered back as he rested his head against his lover’s shoulder. “I’m not worth it.”

“That’s for other people to decide, Eren. Don’t throw away their choice because you can’t see any value in either yourself or what they choose to believe in.” Levi clicked his tongue as he rubbed at Eren’s nape. “It’s our choice,” he repeated.

Eren didn’t want to lose Levi, or Mikasa or Armin. He didn’t want to lose the people downstairs who had become friends. “What about… what about Isabel and Farlan? Did they choose this?”

He felt a flash of pain from Levi, followed by affection. “Isabel will tell you not to fight her fights, thank you very much, while Farlan… he’ll see why it’s worthwhile. And don’t count them among the dead just yet, Erwin’s got a plan and it’s a good one.” Levi was quiet for a few seconds as his hand continued to rub. “I didn’t tell you about them because yet… well, it’s just what I’m used to, not talking about them. After Kenny ran off… I wasn’t in a good place, literally and figuratively.” He let out a slow chuckle, the sound a touch sad, as he continued to massage Eren’s neck. “I fell in with those two and… things got better. Farlan and I looked after Isabel, who was such a fucking brat at times.” His fingers dug into the hair above Eren’s nape and gave it a gentle tug. “I think the two of you will get along, you’re too fucking much alike.”

“Wait, I’m like your sister?” Eren gently scraped his claws against Levi’s bare chest. “Uhm… thanks?”

He winced when the comment got his hair tugged again, this time harder. “You know what I mean, you damn brat.” Levi rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue before he continued. “Isabel’s able to command air and fire – she has dual magic, like your sister. Seems there’s djinn blood in her, so that makes her valuable as fuck if anyone finds that out.” Levi’s smile faded away and he stared off at nothing for a few seconds. “Farlan and I did whatever we could to protect her, but it wasn’t easy, especially with everyone wanting me dead. So he took on a job to kill a pain in the ass mage that would have gotten us enough money to start new lives.” Levi fell silent again, but his emotions were a mix of amusement and sadness.

Eren gave his lover’s chest another gentle scratch before he shifted his hands back to normal. “What was the job?”

“To kill Erwin.” At Eren’s gasp of surprise, Levi smirked. “Yeah, you can see how well that went. Couldn’t kill the bastard, but he made me a deal – join up with him and he would hide Isabel and Farlan away, make sure that none of the other organizations out there would ever bother them again. He’s kept his word this entire time, too, until now.”

Eren pulled back a little as he glanced over his shoulder at the door before returning his attention back on his lover. “So what, he’s been hiding them?”

“Yeah. Had some friends help teach them to use their magic and gave them new identities, then set them up someplace where they could live in peace.” Levi’s emotions and expression became darker as he talked. “Dita, the guy who got killed along with Mike and Nanaba, he used to carry letters back and forth between the three of us, that’s the only contact I’ve had with them over the last few decades. It’s the safest thing for Isabel and Farlan, really, considering what I am and what I do for a living.” He paused for a few seconds and reached out to brush the back of his fingers along Eren’s right cheek. “I didn’t see the point in telling you about them right away because it wasn’t like you’d ever get to meet them. I never was planning on seeing them again, all I do is exchange letters every few months. As it is, only a few people know about them.”

From what Eren could tell, Levi was being earnest about this; he bit into his bottom lip as he tried to make sense out of everything. “Yeah, but now they’re in danger. You want to save them, don’t you? What if- aow! Dammit, stop that!” He glared at Levi for once again tugging on his hair. “Bad as those flicks,” he mumbled.

“Whatever works to get your attention,” Levi told him, his emotions rather smug at the moment before turning serious again. “Like I said, it’s a fucking trap, all right? I can see that now that the shock’s worn off. Erwin’s got a plan to keep them safe and not put you in danger, which is what matters.” He let out a slow breath as he hauled Eren in close. “Yeah, I lost it when I heard that those bastards had found my sister and brother-in-law, but I never once considered handing you over to them.”

Eren closed his eyes as he focused on the feel of Levi’s magic and emotions, as he tried to make sense of everything. “I don’t… it gets so confusing, at times. I’m tired of people dying for me. I’m tired of them being hurt because of me. And it just feels as if… as if I’m fucking up your life.” Fucking up everyone’s life at times, but Levi’s in particular.

Levi snorted as he hugged Eren against him. “Wasn’t much of a life to fuck up in the first place.”

“Still-“

“Brat… just shut up, okay?” Levi followed it up with an ear flick that made Eren laugh despite the annoyance of it all. “It’s my life, and if I say it’s actually better now with you clinging to me and making a mess out of reading my emotions, then it is.”

“Not clinging to you,” Eren grumbled even as he tucked himself even tighter against Levi. “You’re just… comfy.”

“And you’re delusional.” Levi sighed as he fumbled about and then tugged on the blankets. “And if you think you can just hightail it out of here on your own, I will *kick* your delusional ass so fucking hard your colon will be up where your tonsils usually are.”

“Oh, wow.” Eren tilted his head back enough so he could frown at his lover. “I let you kiss me with that mouth?”

Levi smiled as he tucked the blankets around Eren’s shoulders. “You let me do a lot of things to you with this mouth.”

Well, that was true, Eren thought as he glanced aside, while the asshole chuckled as amusement and desire washed into him. “Still think it was a decent plan – I could have taken them by surprise.”

“The only surprise would have been you lasting more than a minute against them.” Levi flicked him again before shifting them both farther down the bed. “How many times do I have to say ‘trap’ until you understand the concept? Now shut up and get some sleep, I can tell from the annoying whine in your voice and the way you’re squinting that your head hurts. Get some fucking sleep and tomorrow we’ll ask that genius friend of yours and the lunatic to figure out how the hell you can start filtering my emotions a bit better – you sure as hell aren’t paying attention to them.”

“I do too pay attention to them,” Eren grumbled as he curled up at Levi’s side on the bed. “Think the problem is that I pay too much attention.” He did some flicking of his own, right to the center of Levi’s impressive chest. “Not like you talk much.”

Levi caught his hand and trapped it against his chest. “This is me talking now – sleep, or else.”

“So mean.” Eren curled up a little more to soak up Levi’s magic, which helped with his headache now that his lover’s emotions had calmed down.

“You damn well know it.” There was a flare of magic as Levi used a spirit to turn off the lights, then the blankets were pulled up a little higher.

Eren was just about to fall asleep, all relaxed now that he was in bed with Levi, with a sense of protectiveness, affection and sleepiness in his head and magic around him, when he jerked away. “Uhm, Mikasa and Armin? Ow!” He glared as he rubbed his sore ear.

“I’m sure other than getting chewed out a bit for not smacking you down instantly for being a blithering idiot, they’re fine.” Levi shoved Eren’s head back down onto his shoulder. “If I have to tell you to go to sleep one more time, I’m having a revenant sit on your head.”

“Gee, why the hell would I want to run away,” Eren muttered as he squirmed a little closer.

“Brat….”

“Good night!”

“Damn right,” Levi muttered as he rested his hand on Eren’s hip, annoyance fading into amusement. Eren closed his eyes and let the soothing emotions carry him back under again.

*******

Armin gave Mikasa’s arm another tug. “Eren should be fine.” He might not be able to sense emotions like Eren, but that had looked like genuine hurt and shock on Levi’s face to him, the few seconds the necromancer had been open enough to show them before anger had taken over.

Mikasa shook off his hand. “What if he hurts Eren again? What if he-“ She glanced aside at Erwin and Hange who were standing nearby and clamped her lips together as if worried about saying too much.

However, it appeared as if Erwin at least had caught on to that. “’What if’ what?” He arched a thick eyebrow and gave her a rather patronizing smile. “What are you so worried about that you felt it safest to run away in the middle of the night when you know that three very powerful shifters are tearing apart the magic community to get their hands on your brother?” The smile turned into a grim expression. “And I mean that in the most literal sense since I saw them do just that to two very dear friends.”

Mikasa huffed as she took a step back to come stand at Armin’s side. “What do you care? It just speeds things up if we leave, doesn’t it?” She gripped onto the ends of her scarf as if to keep her hands from lashing out, to keep her magic in check.

Erwin sighed while Hange shook her head, and across the large open room it looked as if Petra was torn between crying and yelling at them. “You honestly believe that we are going to betray you?”

Armin tugged his leather bag to rest against his stomach and shrugged. “You’re keeping secrets from us and acting unusual, Gunther and Erd have disappeared… how do you think we’re going to react?”

Hange was quiet for a couple of seconds and then laughed as she went over to the fireplace, while Erwin began to shake his head. “I… believe that I have seriously underestimated you.” He gave Armin a rather formal bow, which confused Armin and made Mikasa go stiff. “One would think that we would be used to how magic slows the aging process and not take one of our own kind at face value, but I have to admit, I tend to forget that all of you are older than you appear.” Erwin sighed again as he stood up straight. “I also didn’t realize we gave you so many reasons to distrust us.”

“Or at least a reason to not check with us first before you decided to rabbit,” Hange added as she began to start a fire.

Armin shrugged again as he urged Mikasa over to one of the couches: it looked like this might take a while so they might as well get comfortable. She resisted at first, probably because they were moving farther away from Eren, and then huffed before she went along with him.

“What are we supposed to think when people we’ve only known for little more than a week start acting weird, not using their magic to find out information when friends are in danger but to prevent us from overhearing whatever they’re saying?” Armin tapped the fingers of his right hand against his ear while he stared at Petra.

In the process of curling up on the opposite couch, she gasped and glanced at Erwin. “You knew I put up an air ward?”

Mikasa grunted and tugged on her scarf. “We were on the run for ten years, you think we can’t recognize one? It got too quiet down here for six people being in one room together, especially in a space this large.”

Now Petra appeared rather chagrined. “I… didn’t think about that, dammit. I need to work on that next time.”

“Yes, well, there’s still the issue that you discussed something you obviously didn’t want us to hear.” Armin sat forward with his bag held on his lap. “We’re here *now*. Tell us why we should stay.” Beside him, Mikasa nodded, her body tense as if ready to jump up and go fetch Eren at any moment.

“Even if leaving means you face the other shifters alone?”

“Yes – you said you underestimated us before, perhaps you’re doing it again,” Armin reminded Erwin.

“Or perhaps you’re doing exactly what they want you to do,” Erwin reminded *him* before waving aside the comment. “Look, I think we can agree that it’s a trap, and the extent of which is what we were trying to hide from you, which I can see might have been a mistake.” He pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before he glanced at Hange, who shrugged. “I didn’t want the two of you to overhear the fact that one of the shifters told me that they would keep killing my people until we handed over Eren to them – in part because of a reaction like this.”

Ah, so that was it; Armin sat back in the couch while Mikasa appeared ready to strangle someone with her scarf. Meanwhile, Erwin was once more gazing at them with an arched eyebrow while Hange urged Petra to hand over a blanket. “You don’t appear very surprised to hear that.”

Armin dug the fingernail of his right thumb into the leather of his bag. “They let you, the apparent leader of your group, survive and come back to us, when it would have been most logical to wipe out all three of you if they really wanted to hurt your group. If you look at their past actions, they’ve killed everyone and left the bodies behind to serve as a warning and all the message they wanted to leave, so something was different about this time. The only thing I could think of is that they wanted you to tell your people something… and to be able to make a decision.” He nodded in the direction of the stairs – where Eren had gone. “That most likely would be to order Levi, one of your own men, to hand over Eren.”

It grew quiet save for the crackling of the fire as Erwin gaped at him in open amazement and Hange, huddled beneath a blanket shared with Petra, began to laugh. “Oh, watch out, he’s after your title of ‘crafty bastard’!”

Erwin snapped his mouth shut and shook his head. “I think at this point he can have it.” He gave Armin an appreciative smile before turning toward Mikasa. “Is he always this scary?”

She scoffed as she reached out to tuck back a stray lock of Armin’s hair. “This? This is nothing.” There was a slight smile on her face which morphed into a scowl as she looked back over at the other couch. “Where are Gunther and Erd? Why did you send them away?”

Hange stopped laughing and pushed her glasses up from where they had slid down her nose. “To go help out Isabel and Farlan – Erwin wasn’t kidding when he said that it’s all one big trap, and he thinks he has a plan to turn it around on those bastards.” She gave them a narrow look. “A plan that doesn’t involve handing over your brother, if you’ve missed that part. As if Levi would ever let that happen.” She rolled her eyes before tugging up the blanket to her chin.

Beside her, Petra nodded. “You have to believe us – he won’t let anything harm your brother. Isabel and Farlan mean a lot to him, but I’ve never seen him care about anyone like he does Eren.”

“He barely knows Eren,” Mikasa grumbled, but she did appear a little mollified since she left off twisting at her scarf to fold her hands on her lap. “And what if the other shifters attack this… this family of his?”

“I think we’ll have a couple of days grace while they wait to see what we do, if Levi races off to save them or brings them to where he’s hiding Eren.” Erwin paused and nodded at Armin as if asking for his opinion, and after thinking about it, Armin nodded back in agreement. “That buys us a little time, during which we’ll come up with a plan to turn the tables on them.”

“We should factor in for the bare minimum of time,” Armin advised. “I think they’re getting desperate, and they won’t like not seeing Levi. But it’s clear they believe they have the advantage of strength in their favor. Now that we can break through their wards, we can take some of that advantage away.”

“Yes – and we have to hope they’re not hiding any other advantages.” Erwin got up from the couch and went over to the fireplace to throw in some more wood. “So that’s why we need your help, and for you to stay.”

Armin turned to look at Mikasa, who then glanced up at the second floor, her lips pressed together. “As long as Eren wants to stay,” she decided for them.

“Huh, considering that he’s still up there, I think Levi managed to make his case,” Hange remarked – and for her sake, she said it without any unnecessary innuendo for once. “Who would have thunk it, Levi can woo.” She yelped when Petra smacked her beneath the blanket.

“He’s not completely hopeless,” the air mage muttered, then seemed to reconsider it. “Well, when it really matters.”

Armin groaned as he stood up from the couch. “Just remember to keep us – all three of us – appraised of *everything* from now on.”

“Trust me, I think you’ll find that you’ll be included in all of the decision-making from this point forward,” Erwin agreed. “Good night.”

Well, at least they wouldn’t have to spend what remained of the night on the run, Armin told himself as they headed upstairs. He suspected that the wards on the doors would remain up ‘just in case’, and that Levi was probably going to rather overbearing with Eren for the next day or two, which meant Mikasa wasn’t going to be in a good mood. Still, even if he had been willing to stand by his friends to the bitter end, their chances were better with allies than without. He just hoped that his instincts were correct and that Erwin hadn’t been lying just now, that everything hadn’t been explained away too neatly. Maybe being on the run so long meant that he and Mikasa weren’t quite so willing to trust just yet – Eren’s emphatic ability would help… but yeah, he wasn’t about to barge into a powerful necromancer’s room and drag out the man’s boyfriend. Not when the two appeared to be in the process of making up.

“When this is all over, I just want… oh, I don’t know, a year’s vacation somewhere,” he told Mikasa as they headed to their room. “Maybe at the beach somewhere, or a tropical island in the middle of the ocean.”

She scoffed and gave his back a gentle rub. “You’d be bored out of your mind within a month.”

“Yeah, but it would be so *nice*, knowing what bored feels like.”

“One day,” she promised him.

“Yeah, one day.” Until then, he could look forward to how happy Eren would be when he told him that he would need to make more anti-ward potion tomorrow.

It was the little things in life.

*******

Bertolt’s whiskers twitched as he paused in the shadows to make sure that the two mages were occupied and hadn’t felt a thing when he’d crept into the house and past the wards; the bundle looped around his neck was small, small enough that it shouldn’t have set off the wards but now wasn’t the time to take anything for granted. It was clear from the air ward that had been up since earlier that day that they had noticed him, and from all the activity going on since then that Annie’s plan was working.

The two were busy in another part of the house, arguing about what to pack from the sounds of it, so he would report back to Annie and Reiner once he was done here that it looked as if Ackerman and Smith were deciding to have the two mages go to them. Just in case they were trying to be clever… Bertolt raced forward as fast as he could in ferret form, his black, grey and brown fur helping him to blend in with the shadows, toward the table that he had spotted from the outside while still in hawk form.

Ah yes, there it was, the phone. Now was the risky part; he shrugged off the tiny bundle and then shifted into the form he’d memorized during that awful fight, the form of the powerful necromancer. If either of the mages came into this room, seeing their friend should buy him a couple of seconds – even if he was naked. Bertolt picked up the tiny pack and pried it open as he eyed the phone, then used an elongated nail to open the back case of the phone.

Sweat ran down his face as he worked, but luck was on his side for once – he wouldn’t have to go back and bring in a fresh set of SIM cards, as the few he’d been able to fit in the small pack contained one that matched what was in the phone. He worked as fast as he dared to pull out the old one, hold it against the enspelled card for several seconds and then put the new one in the phone, his fingers beginning to tremble as he put the phone back together and then return the device to the table. The voices were growing louder, something about what they should take with them and what could be left behind, and Bertolt was trembling as he set the pack back on the floor before he could shift into a ferret once more.

“Dammit, Izzy, we don’t have much time! I say just leave the clothes behind if they’re not for this season.”

Hearing footsteps approach, Bertolt hastened for the shadows, and managed to hide himself as the male mage entered the room. “But I hate making Levi and Smith pay for our stuff. Who knows how long it’ll be before we find new jobs,” the girl called out from the other room.

“Better a bit of guilt than taking a bunch of useless stuff that might slow us down.” The man sighed and picked up a tablet which had been on the table by the phone. “It won’t be so bad – maybe this time we can talk Levi into letting us help out.”

“Oh, maybe! I know how to control my magic better now.” The girl’s voice faded as if she went further into another room, and the man left as if to track her down.

It was time for Bertolt to leave as well – he didn’t want to know anything about these two, didn’t want to know about their hopes for the future or any else, not if they needed to use them against Ackerman to rescue Eren. No, best to just get out of here and watch from a distance, to wait and see what Ackerman and Smith had in plan for them. Reiner should be arriving soon, and then he could hand over the SIM card to his lover. They would then be that much closer to finding Eren.

These mages – they took so much for granted when it came to magic, with their spells and their wards and their bloodlines. The good thing about being an outsider, Annie had pointed out when she came up with this latest plan, was that you realized all these wonderful little weaknesses that others overlooked.

They would use this weakness to track down Eren and take him back home. Bertolt hoped it was without much more bloodshed, but soon, Eren would be back home. They all would be back home, where they belonged.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must say, as some of the comments poured in (especially one or two of them) I was all... uhm, WOW, you people are getting really good at figuring this stuff out! Especially since I had about a third of this chapter done before the comments on the last chapter started, and I actually wondered if I somehow posted early, the comments were spot on.... Hopefully there were one or two surprises in this one. And one or two things that made you happy.


	11. Go to your bosom; Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprisingly, finished this a bit early, too. Yay! Hoping to keep on track with the whole holiday stuff but figured, might as well get this up now so I can focus as much time tomorrow on writing. We're getting close to the end of this part of the story, a little more information about things in this chapter.  
> Once again, thank you so very much for the kudos and the comments, they truly are appreciated.

*******

It had to be at least eight am. Levi rubbed at his face and then dropped his hand to rest on top of Eren’s head. His lover was sprawled on top of him, still dead to the world, and Levi was doing his best to let him sleep after last night. In a way it was sort of peaceful to look down at Eren’s face while he was sleeping, at the long lashes of his closed eyes and the dark hair falling onto his forehead. Levi stroked his thumb along Eren’s left cheekbone and smiled at the sense of magic thrumming beneath his lover’s golden skin and the way those improbable lashes fluttered.

He’d suffered a sleepless night, tormented by dreams of losing Isabel and Farlan, of watching those shifter bastards tear Eren from his hands and carry him away. Each time when the nightmares had taken on a macabre turn, had made him ache with fear and horror, he would jolt awake to find Eren half-sprawled on top of him, to realize that he was in his own bed and that Isabel and Farlan should be fine.

Ever since he was little and had gone to live with Kenny, he had learned to shake himself out of nightmares before he got lost in them and they affected his talent. He had always wondered if that ability had led to his insomnia, but he’d been grateful for it during the previous night since it had prevented him from becoming too caught up in painful dreams and affecting Eren as well, in doing something to hurt his lover even more. While he still felt a bit tired, right now it was nice to be awake, to lie in bed and feel Eren’s magic, to see Eren and know that at the moment, everything was all right.

His hand moved to stroke through Eren’s sleep-tousled hair, and then paused when Eren began to stir beneath his touch. His lover rubbed his cheek against Levi’s chest as if a cat before lifting his head to blink up at Levi with blurry eyes.

“Brat… go back to sleep,” Levi urged.

“Huhznah.” Eren jerked his right arm about as if it was twitching and then managed to push himself upright a little. “Nah.”

Levi sighed as he rubbed at the nape of Eren’s neck, which he’d noticed for some reason was a sensitive spot for the brat. “What day is it?”

Eren’s eyes became heavy-lidded and he let out a slow breath. “Huh?”

“Yeah, go back to sleep.”

“Nu-hah.” Eren shook his head a couple of times and managed to get a little more upright. “Ahmm… I’m up.” He cleared his throat and then folded his arms on top of Levi’s chest. “I’m up.” Then he cocked his head to the side and frowned. “You’re up.”

“Yeah, it’s part of that whole ‘awake’ thing people do in the morning,” Levi teased as he gave his lover’s left ear a gentle flick. “Can see your brain is firing on all cylinders already.”

Eren whined as he rubbed at his ear. “It’s early.” He hummed as he closed his eyes. “Not so choppy.”

Levi took that to mean about his emotions and worked his fingers through Eren’s thick, messy hair. “How’s your head today?”

“Hmm.” Eren hummed a little more with his eyes closed. “Aches, but better.” He tilted his head into the caress. “Why you still in bed?”

“Maybe because a certain little shit is all sprawled over me like a blanket?” Levi pointed out. That prompted a frown from Eren as he opened his eyes and pulled back a little.

“You’re… worried.” Eren’s frown deepened and he bit at his bottom lip. “You didn’t have to stay here and-“

Levi used the hold he had on Eren’s hair to jerk the idiot in closer. “What did I say about not reading my emotions right?” He clicked his tongue as he sat up in bed, which made Eren squawk as he flailed about and scrambled to settle on Levi's lap. “I’m worried, but it’s not all about Isabel and Farlan. I’m worried about you, too.”

Eren, his head all but trapped with the way that Levi was holding on to his hair, stared up at Levi as his eyes shimmered with what looked to be tears before he blinked them away. “You don’t need to be.”

“Bullshit,” Levi swore as he loosened his hold. “You keep fucking this shit up.”

“No I don’t,” Eren sulked as he grabbed on to Levi’s forearms. “They’re your stupid emotions.”

“It’s your inability to read them right,” Levi shot back. “Seriously, how hard is this shit?”

Eren’s face became flushed as he gave Levi’s bare chest a light smack. “Well, you’re the one who is all… gah! All choppy and… and jagged and, and flomfy and-“

“Flomfy?” Levi’s eyebrows rose as he pulled Eren forward. “What the hell is ‘flomfy’?”

The red tint returned to Eren’s cheeks and he glanced aside. “It’s… it’s flomfy. When you’re not acting like an angry asshole and things are good they’re… flomfy,” Eren mumbled.

This had to be one of the most ridiculous conversations that Levi had ever had in his life, and that was taking into account *Hange*. Not only Hange, but him and Farlan dealing with a pre-teen Isabel, so yes, that was saying something. He was beginning to see why Eren had such a difficult time in dealing his emotions, because the brat could fuck all understand the things, from the sounds of it.

“I’m beginning to better grasp the issue here,” Levi drawled as he tugged on Eren’s left earlobe.

“Good for you,” Eren grumbled as he batted at Levi’s hand. “Why do I get the impression that it’s all my fault?”

“Because sometimes you know what you’re talking about?” Levi smiled when Eren took to huffing and attempted to flick him in the face, only to have his wrists end up caught and his arms held up in the air. The look of pure frustration on his lover’s face and the pulse of wild magic made Levi chuckle, so when Eren twisted about to break free and fell forward, he didn’t think twice about kissing him.

What was supposed to be a quick, placating kiss turned into something else, turned into him letting go of Eren’s wrists and wrapping his arms around his lover instead, his tongue slipping past parted lips to flick inside… hmm, Eren tasted of something herbal, something like anise. Levi found himself groaning as he hugged Eren to him even tighter, a flare of magic and heat as the robe Eren had worn to bed began to slip open-

“Fuck,” Levi moaned as he pulled back. “We shouldn’t- maybe you should-“

Eren cut him off with a nip to his bottom lip. “Know what I’m feeling now,” he breathed out as he grinded his pert ass down onto Levi’s hardening cock, his eyes darkening with desire until they looked almost a pure blue in color.

Levi shuddered for a moment and then grasped Eren by the hair above the nape of his neck; for a moment he wanted to rub his lover’s nape, to see him close his eyes and relax into the touch but forced himself to resist. “Yeah, but those are my emotions. What are you feeling?” Just last night Eren had been hurt and ready to run – the last thing Levi wanted was to force his own emotions onto his lover and muddle things up in Eren’s head. Just how did the bond work between them?

For a moment Eren appeared confused, appeared so young that Levi was about to shove him away and jump from the bed and then Eren splayed his hand over Levi’s chest. “You’re the only one I’ve wanted like this,” he admitted in a quiet voice. “That’s why last night hurt so much.”

Fuck. “Fuck,” Levi repeated out loud as he leaned forward. “You better not mess up what I’m feeling now, you little shit,” he told Eren as he pushed the robe from his lover’s shoulders.

Eren’s magic all but burned against his fingers, his skin as Eren shrugged free of the garment. “Noo… it’s… it’s searing right now.”

‘Searing’, yeah, that was a good word, was one that actually made sense. Levi brushed his lips against his lover’s neck as his hands skimmed along the sleek muscles and smooth skin of Eren’s back. There was a gasp when his teeth scraped gently along the underside of Eren’s chin, prompting him to smile as he pulled away so he could grab the lube.

“Uhm… there was… something.” Eren frowned as his hands rested against Levi’s chest. “Something….” He shook his head and bit at his bottom lip as if trying to remember while Levi swore – someone had shoved the bottle way in the back on the nightstand.

“Don’t worry about it,” Levi told him as he urged Eren up a little so he could slide his pants down his ass enough to free up his cock; shit, this was going to be quick if he was already trembling at Eren giving him a loose fisting. “Ah, wait a minute,” he told his lover, his voice rough as he held up the lube.

“I… okay.” Eren shook his head, his fingers pressed against his left temple as if to stave off an ache, then he made to snatch at the lube that Levi held just out of reach. “Huh?”

“I’ll do it.” Levi slicked up his right fingers as he urged Eren to lift up on his knees. “I like to watch you as I finger you open.”

That prompted an adorable blush on his lover’s face, even as Eren hung his head forward as if to hide his face with his bangs. “You… I don’t… oh hell.”

“Again, eloquent as fuck.” Levi smirked as he slipped his hand around and rubbed against Eren’s entrance for a few seconds until he provoked a needy whine. As always, he was amazed at how easily his finger slipped in, how quickly he could add another finger without any sign of discomfort from Eren. “Someone’s a little eager, isn’t he,” Levi murmured in Eren’s ear as his fingers twisted about and scissored apart, Eren’s fingers digging into his shoulders as his lover panted and gasped.

“Ah… yeah….” Eren closed his eyes as he arched his neck, his cock hard and glistening as he began to leak precum; he was so fucking gorgeous, so perfect that Levi couldn’t imagine how the hell he could shift into anything else to be better, to make Levi want him any more. “Puh-please.”

“Hmm? You want me to fuck you now?”

“Yes.” Eren opened his eyes and glared, a spark of gold amidst the almost blue and magic so fucking potent it was difficult to breathe. “You-you’re being mean.”

“I know.” Levi pulled his fingers out and grabbed the lube again so he could slick up his own cock, a hiss escaping him both from the feel of the cold fluid and from on how edge he was just then – oh yeah, this wouldn’t take long. Too little sleep, too much stress, too much need. His hand had just left his cock when Eren inched forward, his knees on either side of Levi’s hips, and Levi barely had time to toss the lube aside and grab onto his lover before Eren began to sink downward.

Fuck. *Fuck*. Eren steadily took him in, so hot and tight and perfect, magic wrapping around him as well, and for the time being everything was all right, was the way it should be in the world. It was the two of them, bodies and magic entwined, was pleasure and… was pure pleasure as Levi slid his left hand into Eren’s damp hair to tug his lover’s head down for a hungry kiss while he wrapped his right around Eren’s cock, while his hips rocked up to meet Eren’s increasingly frantic thrusts. They breathed into each other as the intensity grew, the ecstasy coiling ever tighter inside of Levi until a slight shift, a quicker thrust made Eren gasp out loud and his body clench even tighter around Levi and… and….

He bit back on a loud moan as he came, his face tucked against Eren’s shoulder, and struggled to keep moving his right hand, to rock his hips so he could push Eren that little bit further until his lover shuddered against him and cried out his name. Behind him there was the sound of something sharp against wood, of something falling against Levi’s back, but he didn’t care because right now he felt tired and drained and so fucking good.

Eren slumped against him, sweaty and limp and magic quiet once more, and for a few seconds Levi enjoyed the feel of an armful of sated lover before he grimaced and shifted Eren off of his lap, which prompted a hiss from his lover and a grimace from him. “Come on, time for a shower.” He grimaced again as he pushed off his clothes the rest of the way.

“Don’ wanna,” Eren mumbled, appearing about ready to fall asleep.

“Yeah, you do.” Levi dragged him off of the bed and hustled him toward the bathroom when he noticed the dripping mess; someone was going to be bitching about doing the sheets yet again later, and no, Erwin hadn’t bought any new ones. “The water will help, I promise.”

“Mean.” Eren rubbed at his face, then yelped as he was shoved into the tub; at least Levi had the courtesy to have the water aimed at the front of the tub until it was running warm.

“Is that a challenge for me to be really nasty one of these days?” He sighed when Eren gave him a blank look; yeah, give the kid a few minutes to get his brain working again. At least Eren was looking a lot better than he had last night, with his eyes bright and clear, and his skin no longer taking on an ashy cast.

Judging the water to be warm enough, Levi joined Eren in the shower and adjusted the water to fall onto them both. “Come here, I’ll wash your hair.”

Eren hesitated for a couple of seconds and then shuffled over. “You just want me awake.”

“You’re the one who didn’t want to go back asleep earlier,” Levi pointed out as he directed the water to wet Eren’s hair. “Might as well stay awake now and see if Armin and Hange have figured out anything to help with your mental shields.” They really needed for Eren to have some sort of control before they faced the bastards again; Levi couldn’t chance having his emotions being used against his lover, or for Eren’s key nature to decide to just drain everyone to protect the both of them.

Eren hummed as the shampoo was massaged into his hair. “Mmm, that sounds like fun.”

“You want to have a headache every day? Or to drain people dry?” When Eren began to pout, Levi smiled and rinsed out the shampoo. “Yeah, I thought not.”

Eren waited until Levi was done to step back, busy slicking the wet hair away from his face. “I don’t mean to lose control like I’ve been doing lately.”

Levi sighed as he tucked aside a strand that Eren had missed. “It’s not all your fault – last night definitely wasn’t your fault. We’re tied together so we both have to shoulder the blame.” He took a deep breath before he forced himself to say the words. “Look… when all of this is over with, when those bastards are dead and gone… if you want to leave then… I won’t stop you. No one will stop you.” It hurt like hell to give Eren that option, but he wouldn’t keep him here by force.

At first Eren just stood there, eyes wide and magic pulsing as if he was looking for something to cast it upon, some shape to change into, and then Eren shook his head. “I… I don’t… last night….” His eyes shimmered as if he was about to cry, and it felt as if Levi had just been punched in the chest. “I thought last night that you didn’t want me, that you just… you just wanted your sister and friend.”

“Bullshit,” Levi snapped as he pulled Eren to him. “I told you that. I’m *not* handing you over to them, ever.”

Eren sniffed against Levi’s chest. “Yeah, okay.” His hand came up behind Levi’s back, the touch gentle and slightly trembling. “So, uhm, unless you want me to go….”

Levi waited for the rest of that declaration, until it hit him that Eren was basically saying that he was staying unless Levi wanted him gone. “No brains,” he complained as he gave Eren’s left ear a gentle flick. “None at all. Can’t even figure out that if I’d wanted you gone, you’d have been buried in that cemetery weeks ago.”

There was a sound from Eren, something like a cross between a gasp and a laugh, just as his magic flared. Levi smiled and rubbed his chin against Eren’s forehead, which made Eren complain and pull away because of the rasp of stubble. “You need to shave.”

“Yeah, after this.” Levi reached for the shampoo so he could do his own hair and then frowned as he watched Eren begin to wash off. “Hey, how come you never need to shave?” He just realized that each morning Eren woke up without any stubble.

His lover paused while lathering up the washcloth and shrugged. “Difficult to shave while on the run so I… just made it stop?” He appeared puzzled for a moment as if he didn’t know what else to say before he shrugged again. “Armin did something similar with a potion – you stand out if you look all scruffy, and while we could clean up with wipes and stuff, we didn’t always have water for razors. It was just easier that way.” Then a hint of red colored his cheeks. “Not like it ever grew in very much, unless I shifted.”

It must be nice to be a shifter, Levi thought with some envy. “Just for that, you’re making me some tea when we go downstairs.” It was late enough that someone should have already made breakfast – they better have made breakfast if they knew what was good for them.

“Eh?” Eren appeared confused again, but ended up shaking his head. “Whatever.” He slanted a frown Levi’s way as he began to scrub clean. “You just want me to be your personal maid.”

That prompted a laugh from Levi. “When this is all over, I’m buying you a maid’s costume.”

Eren waited until he rinsed his hair clean to lean over and give Levi a lingering kiss. “If we get through this, I’ll actually wear it for you.”

If Levi didn’t have any incentive to kill those bastards before, he certainly had it now.

*******

“Come on, stop dragging your ass,” Levi chided Eren as they neared the kitchen.

Eren tugged on the hem of his grey sweater and forced his feet to move faster; after the, well, drama of last night, he was a little nervous about facing Hange, Erwin and Petra. Levi appeared to understand why he’d attempted to leave in the middle of the night, but would the others? He really didn’t want to continue to put them in danger and couldn’t comprehend why they were so willing to risk their lives for him.

“Eren….”

“Yeah, yeah.” Eren all but ran the last few steps and wasn’t surprised when his lover latched on to his wrist to haul him into the large, brightly lit room. Everyone was gathered inside, with Petra at the stove and the rest seated at the table.

Armin looked up from the various vials he was bent over while Mikasa jumped up from the table, and Erwin gave him a smile as Hange continued to flip through some huge book. “Perfect timing, since Petra just finished a new batch of eggs.”

“They’re scrambled, so it’s nothing fancy,” she called out from the stove.

Meanwhile, Mikasa came to a halt in front of Eren and reached out to touch his face. “You look better today.” She gave Levi a flat look before returning her attention to Eren, her lips curved in a slight, pleased smile. “You got enough rest? How’s your head?”

“Yeah, it’s better.” Eren could feel Levi’s annoyance and was grateful when he remained quiet. “How about the two of you?”

“We talked some things out. There aren’t going to be any more *secrets*.” Mikasa gave Levi a pointed look during that last part for some reason. “So come on, sit down and get something to eat,” she urged as she stepped back. “It’s going to be a busy day.”

“Uhm, in a minute, I want some tea.” He tugged his wrist free and went over to the counter, and hoped that his lover and his sister didn’t get in a fight without his presence there to act as a buffer; he could feel an increase in tension for a few seconds and then a scoffing sound before someone walked away.

“So what are these grand plans?” Levi asked before there was the scraping of wood against the stone floor, so Eren assumed that at least his lover was sitting down. “Anyone doing a grocery run?”

“Sorry to say that any shopping is on hold for a day or two.” Yeah, Erwin didn’t sound too unhappy about that. Eren shared a smile with Petra, who was busy cooking up the eggs and what looked to be sausage. “I think we can manage that long with our current supplies.”

When Eren glanced over his shoulder, Levi shook his head and used a spirit to ruffle Eren’s hair. “Don’t even say it, you little shit. There’s no way I’m letting you out in those woods to hunt.”

While Eren pouted, Mikasa came over to help him with the tea, picking up the kettle to fill it with fresh water while he scooped out the loose tea into the pot. “He’s not the only one who can hunt, though he has more fun running around to do it. Armin and I can bring back a deer or two.”

“Hmm, and maybe some duck? I like duck.” Armin paused in playing with his potions to smile at Eren. “Someone doesn’t like plucking all the feathers, though.”

“Don’t know why you won’t let me singe them off,” he complained. “I mean, all it takes is one shift and a few breaths and it’s done.”

“Maybe because some of us like our duck breast medium rare, not well-done.”

Hange paused in her research go give Eren a rather scary, assessing gaze. “When things calm down, you and me, shifter-boy, are going to spend some quality time together even if I have to give your boyfriend an acute case of Encephalitis lethargica.”

“What? Why you shitty-“

Erwin pushed Levi back into his chair while he shook his head. “Please spare the threats until after breakfast.”

“Oh, it wasn’t a threat, I really want to see what all Eren can do.” Hange grinned until there was a flare of cool magic and then the thick book in front of her rose up to almost smack her in the face. “Ha!”

“I don’t see how this is helping Eren at all,” Armin remarked as he shook a couple of vials, unruffled by the whole thing.

“I don’t see how this is helping any of us.” Erwin gave Levi and Hange both a nasty scowl before he got up from the table with an empty platter in hand to go over to the stove. “You’re supposed to be adults.”

“Whatever,” Levi snarked as he glared at Hange for a few more seconds. “Any word from Gunther and Erd yet?”

“No, but they’re supposed to send a message after they pick up Isabel and Farlan.” Erwin’s temper seemed to fade away as he nodded at Levi. “They still have some time.”

Levi rubbed at his undercut as he clicked his tongue, then he stared at Eren for a few seconds before he nodded back. “All right. So what are we doing today?”

“Well, I figured Eren could help me out a little after breakfast by providing more of his ward so we can make up some more potions both to take out the other shifters and maybe set up some sort of warning if they try to breach our defenses.” Armin grinned at Eren from the table. “Better eat a lot.”

Still waiting for the water to boil, Eren groaned as he ran his fingers through his hair, which prompted Mikasa to give him a sympathetic pat on the back.

“And after he’s done with that, I think I’ve found a couple of things that’ll help him with his Levi problem,” Hange added, which got her another glare from Eren’s lover. “Something to enable him to filter out the strong emotions, at least.”

“Really?” Eren rubbed at his temples and smiled, hopefully that he wouldn’t be subjected to the painful headaches and slips of control in the near future.

Hange smiled back as she motioned to the book in front of her. “Yep, the principle seems based on warding, so it shouldn’t take too much effort.”

It was about then that the water started to boil, so Eren finished with the tea while Mikasa helped Erwin and Petra reset the table with food for everyone. He took the pot of tea over to Levi and sat next to his lover, grateful for the comforting feel of magic as much as a chance to eat.

Erwin waited until everyone had full plates – Levi and Eren especially since they had missed the first batch of eggs – before he resumed speaking. “Levi, I would like it if you would work with Petra and Mikasa outside to help figure out how to improve the wards. As soon as Armin is done with the new potion you can add it to our defenses, but I’d like there to be some other surprises for our… friends.”

Levi paused in buttering a slice of toast to glace at first Petra and then Mikasa. “We can do some things with the spirits that’ll fuck them up if they come through the air.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’d hoped for.” Erwin nodded in approval as he cut up a piece of sausage. “I doubt they’ll attempt another impersonation to breach our wards, so an aerial attack is highly probable.”

Eren shrugged as he finished swallowing some eggs. “Most of the fun shapes have wings, after all. Dragon, chimera, gryphon, drake, that hippo one-“

“Hippocampus,” Armin supplied for him with a knowing grin. “Or, you know, pegasus.”

“Yeah, but you always say the first one,” Eren pointed out with a sulk.

“What can I say? I’m a sucker for the classics.”

“You’re an annoying know-it-all,” Mikasa muttered, but she was smiling all the same, and Armin smiled as well.

Erwin cleared his throat in a very loud manner, which cut through their conversation. “Yes, we’re getting the point, I believe. I’m sure it was amusing to them to….” He frowned as he seemed to think of something. “Is it possible that they sent shifters about Eren’s age to fight us?”

Levi grunted as he checked the pot of tea. “Like we have any fucking clue? No one’s seen what they look like… wait, the glimpse I got the one time, they did look young.” His emotions were contemplative as he gazed at Erwin. “But that’s *if* it was their true shape.”

“True, but Hitch is rather young, and I would think that she’d work better with people who are her own age considering how she’s striking back at Reiss and the such.” Erwin’s thick brows drew together and he pushed his half-finished plate aside. “It might explain the change in tactics, too – it’s as if they’re still figuring things out… or they’re under orders. They did things their way the first time they fought us, or didn’t have explicit enough orders and then they were told how to do things, were given tighter instructions afterwards. That would fit if they were young, if they’re still unsure of themselves.”

Eren felt Levi’s anger and uncertainty build the more that Erwin spoke. “That’s a lot of guesswork on your part, and if it’s right then it means that someone powerful is pulling their strings. If that’s the case, then this shit isn’t over even if we take out those three bastards.”

The room was quiet after that, albeit filled with a tension that made Eren’s head ache. He nearly jumped when Levi nudged him to drink the mug of tea that his lover had just filled. “The main thing is to take out our current attackers.” Erwin got up with his coffee mug in hand. “We can’t do anything if we’re in fear of being wiped out.”

“Yes, but it may be to our benefit to keep one of them alive,” Armin suggested as he pushed his remaining eggs about on his plate. “I think we’re in desperate need of some knowledge.”

Hange was quiet for a moment as if thinking it over, and then she slammed her hands down on the table. “You want to let one of those fuckers remain alive a *second* longer than necessary?” Her eyes glowed a brilliant red behind her glasses. “Seriously? After everything they’ve done to-“

“Hange!” Levi gestured with his right hand and sent a spirit or something in front of her to get her to back off, Eren knew since he felt his lover use his magic. When Hange spluttered and glared in their direction, Levi shrugged and held up his hands. “You’ll get to torture the information out of them.”

The change in the blood witch’s demeanor was instantaneous. “Oh, well, yeah, then I’m in.” She smiled as she readjusted her glasses on her face. “By all means, we need to find out what they know.”

Eren wasn’t sure that he still had an appetite after that, but he got another nudge in the side and a wave at his plate, so he sighed and picked up his fork. “So maybe we need to work in something to help trap an attacker,” Petra offered.

Levi clicked his tongue as he picked up his mug. “I’m thinking a shit-ton of revenants sitting on them will do it, but yeah, let’s see how clever we can get.”

“Then I do believe we have our work cut out for us.” Erwin poured himself some more coffee before pulling his phone out of his front right pocket. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some calls to make – and yes, Levi, I will keep you updated on what’s happening with Isabel and Farlan.”

“You better.” Levi glared at his friend for a few seconds before turning the evil look Eren’s way. “Finish your breakfast.”

“I’m working on it,” Eren muttered, and nearly threw his fork aside when Mikasa joined in on the whole glaring thing. “Not you, too.”

“You’ll need the energy for the practice later,” she told him. “Have some more sausage.”

“Fine.” Eren narrowed his eyes at Armin, who was smirking at him, as he shoveled the food into his mouth. For someone who could turn into a dragon and singe all of them with one breath, he certainly wasn’t getting much respect. Maybe he could shift into bear or something equally large and clean the plate in one or two bites…. As soon as he swallowed the food, he was given a flick to his left ear. “Ow! What was that for? I’m eating!”

Levi had a bored look on his face as he sipped his tea. “Because you’re being a brat – I can tell by your magic.”

“What the… I give up.” Eren hunched his shoulders as much as possible as he had another bite. “Maybe I should have gone back to sleep,” he complained as soon as it was swallowed.

There was enough smugness over the link just then to make him want to gag. “Weren’t complaining about being awake too long ago.”

As Eren ducked his head and focused on eating before he embarrassed himself any further – Levi’s comment provoked a loud laugh from Hange and another knowing grin from Armin, Levi finished his breakfast and toast before standing up. “Don’t let these two eggheads work you too hard,” his lover ordered as he rubbed the back of Eren’s neck before tugging on his hair to make Eren look up for a quick kiss. “And don’t leave the damn house.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Eren breathed against Levi’s lips, having figured that he’d be locked down both because of the threat and what he’d tried to pull last night.

Levi clicked his tongue before leaving, and Mikasa was quick to take his place. “Seriously, don’t push too hard after what happened last night.” She tucked back his bangs, her hand lingering on his forehead as if feeling for a fever. “You look better today, but you still need some rest.”

“I’ll be fine,” he promised her. “Watch out for yourself.”

She smiled as she adjusted her scarf then followed Levi out of the room, with Petra on her heels. That left him with the dishes, but he didn’t mind too much. “Let me clean up this mess first,” he told Armin and Hange.

“I’ll help out,” Armin volunteered, and the two of them began to clean off the table.

It was just when the sink was beginning to fill up with water that Eren felt it – both the flare of magic and then the ‘pings’ of coldness. He looked up from the plate he was scrubbing and glared about him. “Oh come *on*, both of you?”

Armin stared at him in confusion. “Ah, both of us what? We’re not doing anything.”

“Well, not yet,” Hange added, busy reading once more.

Eren shook his head as he handed Armin the clean plate. “It’s Levi and Mikasa, each of them have sicced a spirit on me.” He paused to ‘feel’ about a little better and shivered when one of the undead brushed too close. “At least one each, dammit.” They were going overboard.

Armin laughed as he set the dried plate aside. “They’re just looking after you.”

“But it’s annoying! I keep hitting the cold spots when they do this crap – it’s like constantly walking into a draft or something.”

Hange glanced up from the book and arched her eyebrows. “You did try to run away last night. Levi’s probably making sure you don’t do anything quite as stupid today, as well as watching over me since you’re showing all these interesting powers.” She appeared annoyed for a couple of seconds. “I really need to figure out how to distract him – hey! Focus on your honeybunch, not me!” She waved her arm as if to scare away the spirit that currently was causing the pages of her books to flap about.

Her antics caused Armin to laugh and shake his head. “He seems to have a few good reasons, while Mikasa probably just wants to make sure you don’t get overloaded again.” He grinned while he dried another plate. “She’s really doing well with her new talent, isn’t she?” He sounded like a proud parent or something.

“Yeah, well, let her spy on you sometime,” Eren grumbled. “See how happy you are about them then.”

“Methinks that someone is a bit grouchy this morning.” Armin gave him a too innocent look. “Which is odd, considering how you and Levi… made up.”

Eren stared at his friend for a few seconds before he caught the innuendo. “Dammit, the wards….” He remembered what he meant to tell Levi earlier.

Hange cackled as she closed a book. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care if it for you since you two are so busy.” When her chair rocked beneath her, she laughed again. “Oh, play with your ghosts, Grumpy! I’ll figure out how to keep Eren from getting a headache every time you fly off the handle and you can let me get some nice energy whenever you two get it on.” She gave the air around her the finger when the chair bucked again. “You owe me that much at least.”

Eren groaned as he felt a blast of anger from his boyfriend. “Uhm, Hange? You’re not helping.” He rested his hands on the counter and hung his head as if that would lessen the building headache.

“I don’t think he’s kidding,” Armin added as he rubbed Eren’s back. “Do you need a potion?”

“Neither are you,” Eren mumbled as his mouth went dry at the mere thought of yet another foul potion.

“It’s okay, it’s all the hormones talking.” Armin laughed as Eren splashed foam bubbles at him.

“Maybe I’d rather be surrounded by a bunch of undead.”

“Hmm, sounds like someone is missing his necromancer honeybunny.” Hange laughed as her chair rocked again. “Haha, this is *so* fun! I get my shots in when he’s not here to rip my liver out!”

Yeah, but Eren got stuck with Levi’s temper, something which Armin seemed to pick up on. “Go on and work on your mental shield,” his friend urged and handed him the towel to dry his hands. “I think you need to do that right away.”

“Thanks.” Eren gave Armin a grateful smile as he used the towel then marched over to the table as if headed to his doom, shivering a little as he went past a spirit. “All right, let’s get this over with.”

*******

Mikasa hugged her coat around her a little tighter against the cold; it was times like these that she missed Eren, missed his warmth and the ability to share it. Spring couldn’t come soon enough, but at least she had the scarf he’d given her all those years ago, enhanced with a protection spell from Armin. Well, that and she just had to concentrate on the spirit she’d left watching over him to know what he was doing, even if it provided a sense of relief and not warmth.

A few feet away, Levi looked up at the sky and clicked his tongue. “Okay, Petra, here’s where you come through for me. Show me what you’ve got.”

The air mage beamed at him as she rubbed her mittened hands together. “Yes, sir!” She even gave him a salute as she stared upward for several seconds, her brow furrowed as if she was concentrating. “Best not to count on that fancy ward, no?”

“That Armin’s hot shit but yeah, figure it out for yourself,” Levi told her.

“Hmm.” Petra tucked back a strand of light auburn hair as she glanced about, and Mikasa could pick up a faint pulse of her magic. “I was up half the night thinking about this, about what you’ve told me about their ward and all.” She tapped her chin as she gazed back at Mikasa and Levi. “Spells don’t affect them, but you said that you two could fight them, right? That the revenants could hold them back?”

Mikasa nodded while Levi clicked his tongue again. “Yeah, if you can get a hand – undead or alive – on those bastards, it works. Also seems like a charmed blade will wear down their fancy ward.”

Petra smiled as if she was pleased to hear that. “All right, so here’s what I was thinking. Wind is wind.” She gestured and Mikasa’s hair and scarf streamed out in the magically generated wind. “I use magic to generate it and control it, but it’s not a magical force, just the power behind it. See where I’m going?”

Mikasa gasped and even Levi smiled a little as they figured out what she was planning on doing. “So you’re going to use wind against them?” Mikasa fixed her scarf once Petra stopped using her magic as an illustration.

“I should be able to create some nasty wind patterns up there,” Petra pointed above her, “that’ll make it near impossible for them to fly properly. I can set them at a certain level so they won’t know a thing until they get too close.”

Levi nodded in approval, while something occurred to Mikasa. “But that’ll affect Eren, too.”

Levi gave her a disgusted look. “That’s one of our own, versus three of theirs. I’ll take those odds.” When she frowned at him, his eyes narrowed in return. “I’m not feeling any sympathy for him, here. So what if his wings are clipped for a few days, at least he’ll be safe.”

“And not able to run away, right?” Mikasa gripped the ends of her scarf between her hands as she glared at the necromancer.

“Uhm… I’m going to be over here, working on that wind thing,” Petra said as she stepped aside. “While you two work on your issues.”

Levi waved to her while he kept his attention focused on Mikasa. “It’s not about keeping him trapped, but *safe*. Eren knows he’s free to go whenever he wants, *after* we deal with those bastards.” Levi huffed as he jammed his gloved hands inside the pockets of his torn coat, as if to make sure he didn’t do something with them he might regret. “I even told him so this morning.”

“Yeah, I’m- what?” That wasn’t what Mikasa had expected to hear – she hadn’t thought that Levi would offer such a thing to her brother after the way he had reacted last night. “What did he say?” She wanted to know Eren’s response, even she had a feeling that it was already clear.

Levi glanced over at Petra for a moment before he scowled at the ground. “That he’s fine with staying as long as I want him to stay.” The scowl was then directed at her. “Which I do.” Levi took his right hand out of his pocket and waved it about in the air. “Want him to stay. And not because he’s some shitty key or shifter or any of that. Fuck, I’m bad at this shit,” he muttered as he ran his hand over his hair. “So back the fuck off a little, all right? Maybe I’m stressing him out but you’re not helping, either.”

Mikasa grit her teeth together for a few seconds then told herself to calm down. She knew what Armin would tell her right now, knew he would remind her to think of Eren and what was best for her brother. It just… it was just so hard at times, and she didn’t think Levi could appreciate it. “Look… you haven’t been there all these years, all right? You haven’t seen the way people react around him, the way they want him when they find out what he is,” she tried to explain. “The way they treat him as a thing and not a person.”

“He’s not a thing to me,” Levi insisted, his gaze a bit distant.

“I’m not finished,” Mikasa ground out, which prompted another scowl from Levi. “I can see that,” she conceded with a slight nod. “But it worries me, this bond between you. What if you take it for granted? What if you take the powers… the control over Eren it gives you for granted? Maybe you’ll become like those other people.” It had scared her, seeing her independent, fiery brother brought low just because of another’s emotions.

Levi then regarded her with an intent expression for several seconds before he shook his head. “Maybe, but I don’t think so. I’ve spent too many years being hated for my own power, for people either wanting to use me or want me dead. I know how it feels, and it sucks. I won’t do that to Eren.”

“I hope so,” Mikasa admitted. “I really do. And I hope you give Eren a little time to find his footing.” She sighed as she let go of the scarf. “I don’t mean to take all of this out on you, it’s just… it’s what I do, protect Eren. He’s always there for me, so I’m there for him.” She lowered her chin to brush against the soft scarf.

Levi scoffed as he once more shoved his hand into his pocket. “Armin is there for Eren – you’re like a fucking pit bull on steroids. Wait ‘til Farlan meets you, he can finally stop bitching at me for being overprotective of Isabel.”

Was… that a compliment? Mikasa wasn’t too sure, but she chose to take it as one. “Thank you, I think.”

“Yeah, yeah. Now come on, I think I’ve a plan to work some spirits into Petra’s wind defense – if your genius friend can weaken their wards, it’ll fuck them up but good and if not, it might still have some impact because it’ll throw off whoever runs into them.”

Mikasa concentrated on the spirit watching over her brother and smiled. “Well, almost everyone.”

There was that faraway look to Levi’s grey eyes for a moment and he snorted once. “Yeah, almost everyone.” Levi began walking over to where Petra was busy working on her magic. “We’re going to get an earful when we go inside.”

“Unless Armin and Hange are driving him crazy, and then he’ll be happy to for the diversion.”

“You wanna go for someone’s throat? Go after Hange, she’s the one currently eyeing up your precious brother again as if he’s a juicy steak and she hasn’t eaten in a week.” Levi glared at nothing in particular while his magic slowly built up.

Mikasa was quiet as she checked with her own spirit. “So… the enemy of my enemy is a friend?”

Levi shrugged as he had one of his spirits slam a book on the blood witch’s hand. “Works for me, how about you?”

She didn’t see how Armin could complain about that, and it should make Eren happy. “I’m fine with it.” She had her spirit knock the glasses off of Hange’s nose.

Meanwhile, Petra paused in her magic casting to give the both of them a dubious look. “I’m getting a bad feeling about this.” When they both paused in manipulating the spirits to stare blankly at her, she sighed and shook her head. “I’m *definitely* getting a bad feeling about this.”

*******

Erd checked the GPS on his phone. “We should be there in a few more minutes.”

“Great, I’ll keep my eyes out for rampaging shifters.” Gunther scowled as he leaned forward to peer out of the windshield. “What did Erwin say took out Mike and Nanaba?”

“Harpy and gryphon.” Erd grinned as his friend grimaced at the information. “Pick your death, bird woman or bird kitty.”

“How about neither?”

“I believe that’s what Erwin’s working on.” Erd checked his phone and motioned at the narrow road up ahead on the left. “I think that’s it.”

Gunther slowed the truck down so he could maneuver onto the road. “So, you know anything about Levi’s sister and brother-in-law?”

Erd had been the first one on the team that Levi had trained, but that only meant that he’d had an extra year or so with the reticent man. “No more than you do – that she can control fire and wind and her husband water, which Levi joked once is why they used to fight all the time. I heard a rumor that the three of them used to be pretty powerful together, back when they were in Subrosa.”

“No shit, considering that Levi’s a one-man army in and of himself.” Gunther nodded to the trees around them and gathered his power to him, so Erd did the same. “Well, here’s hoping we don’t get taken out by a damn harpy or something.”

“I don’t know, it’s better than a gryphon. Can at least say you died in a woman’s arms, right?”

That startled a laugh from his friend, and despite the tenseness of the situation, they were smiling as they drove down the long driveway toward a small, ranch-like house in the woods. Erd kept glancing out the windshield and the passenger window for any larger birds – or worse – while Gunther drove, and they stopped the truck about fifty yards away from the house – what should be safely outside any wards.

As soon as they got out of the truck, the front door of the house opened up and a thin man of about medium height stepped out, pale brown hair cut short and grey eyes similar to Levi’s. He studied them for a few seconds, and then there was a pulse of magic before Erd felt a sudden rush of weakness and he stumbled to his knees. “Wuh-wait,” he called out as Gunther fell down beside him. “Erwin sent us!”

“I thought so, but I wanted to be certain.” Just as sudden as the dizziness had come over him, it vanished and Erd could stand up straight. “Levi said that those shifters were impervious to magic, so I figured this was a good test.”

Yeah, this guy was friends with Levi all right. “Ah, they’re impervious when they’re warded up,” Erd clarified as he took a cautious step forward. “I’m Erd, and this is Gunther.”

“Are you done being all macho?” There was an annoyed, feminine voice from within the house and then the man – Farlan, Erd assumed – stepped aside so the woman, Isabel, could join them. She was pretty with unruly reddish hair pulled back in a long ponytail and bright green eyes, and had to be as short as Petra. Both of them appeared dressed for travel in jeans, loose sweaters and boots. “Hello! I’m Isabel, and this is Farlan. Come and get our stuff.”

“Izzy,” Farlan complained as he rubbed at his face. “Be nice to the men who are helping us.”

She frowned up at him as she folded her arms over her chest. “I am being nice, and I thought we were in a hurry.”

Gunther was grinning over the two of them, and Erd wondered if his friend was thinking about how yeah, one could tell this was someone raised by Levi all right. “She’s correct, we should hurry up. The sooner we get moving, the better.” Hopefully any shifters sneaking about had heard that and would leave them alone in hopes of following them.

Farlan sighed and motioned them to come into the house. “Don’t worry about the ward, I deactivated it once you passed the test. We spent the night packing, so excuse us if we’re a bit snappy from the lack of sleep.”

“That and trying to figure out what we’re willing to burn to ash,” Isabel added as she walked away. “Luckily, Farlan converted most of his books to digital a couple of years ago.”

“Because *someone* was bitching about us having too many bookshelves.”

“You could barely see any of the walls! And who was it who complained about how long it took for anything to arrive in the mail? Now you click ‘send’ and ignore me for hours on end when a new book comes out.”

Erd did his best not to smile as he followed the married couple into the house, while Gunther made a coughing sound – the two reminded him in a way of a non-platonic Levi and Hange… or Petra and Olou. Thoughts of his dead teammate helped to sober him up, as did the sight of several packed bags near the door. “Is this it?”

Farlan stood near the bags with Isabel all but tucked against his side. “Yes, we tried to keep it to a minimum. It’s some clothes, some odds and ends and a few mementos.”

Isabel’s eyes flared an amber gold color for a couple of seconds and there was a sense of powerful magic as the air grew heated around them. “Where are you taking us? Will we see Levi?”

Erd tampered down his talent to keep it from reacting, especially since he wasn’t certain he could overpower Farlan and knew him and Gunther could take on Isabel. “We’re to take you someplace safe, but Erwin doesn’t want you with Levi just yet.”

The sense of power faded away as Isabel scoffed and looked up at her husband. “Why is my brother being so stubborn?”

“It might not be him this time,” Farlan argued with her as he rubbed her left arm. “Erwin’s probably being careful because of the shifters – they want us to go right to Levi so he’s doing the opposite.”

“Because of this ‘Eren’.” Isabel’s eyes narrowed as she returned her attention back onto Erd and Gunther. “Why is he so special again? Aren’t they all shifters?”

Erd chuckled, suddenly nervous as he wasn’t sure just what he could say – Erwin and Levi hadn’t told these two about Eren’s true nature so should he? “Well, uhm, he’s more powerful than they are.” When he didn’t say anything else, Isabel took to scowling at him.

“You’re terrified of my brother and won’t tell me anything else, right?”

“Uhm, yeah?” Who wouldn’t be when it came to going against Levi’s wishes – especially in regards to someone he cared about?

Farlan smiled as he nudged Isabel in the side. “Give the poor guy a break – you’re asking about Levi’s boyfriend, remember?”

The change in the woman’s demeanor was instantaneous. “Ah, that’s right!” She took to smiling at Erd and Gunther. “What’s he like? He’s cute, right? Levi deserves someone really cute and nice.”

This time it was Gunther who laughed and he stepped forward as he pulled out his phone. “I’ll leave it up to you to decide if he’s cute, but Levi really seems to like him.” He flipped through stuff on his phone and held it out to Isabel.

“Eh?” She grabbed at it and laughed. “Brother hasn’t changed at all, look Farlan!” She held up the phone and laughed again. “And yes, Eren is really cute! And short! Oh, they’re adorable together.”

Farlan shook his head at that. “Not what a guy wants to here, honey. But yeah, Levi’s looking really good.” He touched the phone for a moment and smiled. “We worried about him, you know,” he told Erd and Gunther while Isabel continued to stare at the screen. “Some of his letters… it’s good that he has someone now.”

“Send me the pic!” Isabel insisted as she handed it back to Gunther, and Erd caught a glimpse of it to see that somehow his friend had managed to sneak a picture of Levi and Eren together, from the looks of it at dinner the other night. There was a hint of a smile on Levi’s face and Eren was tucked against his side, eyes bright and chin-length hair tucked back.

“I don’t have your- never mind.” Gunther grinned as Isabel snatched back the phone and started typing away, probably sending it to herself. “Not to spoil your fun, but we really should get moving.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Isabel finished with his phone and handed it back. Her smile faded as she looked around the house. “It was nice here, even if it got boring from time to time.” She sounded as if she was trying for nonchalant but couldn’t quite manage it.

Her husband paused in the middle of going for a bag and instead grasped one of her hands. “It’ll be okay, I’m sure we’ll find an even better home. One with that fancy tub you always wanted – so I can stop enchanting it for you.”

She sniffed a little as she tugged on his hand. “You pledged your eternal love to me, you can’t give me a stupid whirlpool?”

“And how much do you complain about heating the bed during winter?”

“I am *not* a heated mattress pad!” Isabel stamped her right foot as if to emphasis her point.

Erd bit his bottom lip as he grabbed two of the bags and began to back away. “Ah, yeah, we’ll be… truck.”

Gunther was right behind him with more of the bags. “Oh yeah, this is going to be such a fun drive,” he complained, but he was smiling all the while.

Nothing like a long drive with a couple who loved to bicker in a truck with an extended cab. Ah well, if they could survive training after Levi found out about the bet, they could survive this.

*******

Armin placed a couple of drops on the clean floor and then formed a new ward. “Try it again,” he urged Eren.

His friend rubbed the back of his neck, a sure sign that he was growing tired and annoyed with all of the requests so far that day. “Okay.” He closed his eyes to form the crystal ward upon his skin once more, which took a few seconds longer than usual, and then sighed as he began to walk toward Armin and the ward. Off to the side, Hange stood with her eyes narrowed and her right hand to her mouth as she chewed on her thumb.

Armin concentrated on the ward, on the sense of his magic as Eren approached. Long familiar with Eren’s unique type of magic, he thought he felt ‘something’ when Eren reached the ward… and there was a definite pause when Eren pressed against it. “I… huh, it’s like a tingling sensation this time,” Eren commented as he pushed through it.

“Yes!” Armin reached for Eren and gave him a hug. “We’re close! The ward is definitely reacting to you this time – wait, don’t let it go just yet!” he chided his friend before he released him. Hange rushed over with a couple of empty vials in her hand while Armin reached into his bag for the special ‘reactive agent’ which he shook a couple of times before uncapping the lid on top; a purplish fog soon engulfed Eren which prompted a very loud, plaintive sigh. “Now do it.”

Eren released the crystal ward, and as the ‘steam’ met with the fog, the purplish color changed to a faint lavender and then funneled into the vials which Hange was holding. “Yes! Think we’ll get it this time?” she asked as the fog began to form into crystals once inside the vials.

“Now that we’ve finally gotten this far, all we have to do is figure out how to add an alarm factor into the spell,” he told her while Eren slinked away toward the table. “It’s alright,” he told his friend, “I think we’re done with you for the day.”

“Oh thank the Fates,” Eren moaned as he all but collapsed into one of the chairs, stripped down to his t-shirt and jeans. “I don’t think I could take much more.” He looked it, too; there were dark circles under his eyes and his hands trembled as he reached for his sweater, which he dropped into his lap as if too tired to pull back on.

Armin felt a bit sorry for pushing his friend so hard this past hour, especially after Hange had worked with him on the mental shields, but he’d been so close on figuring out the potion for the wards. “Let me make you some tea, all right? How about something to eat?” Maybe there was something he could reheat, or he could put together a sandwich.

“Tea,” Eren mumbled as he leaned forward to fold his arms on top of the table and then rest his head on them. “Tea good.”

Armin smiled as he went past his friend to give Eren’s hair a gentle tousle, while Hange fussed over the vials.

He’d just put water on for tea when there was the sound of footsteps approaching, and he wasn’t surprised to see that Levi and Mikasa entered the kitchen with identical expressions of concern on their faces. “Hey, how’d things go?”

“You two!” Hange shoved her glasses up her nose while she glared at them. “Have fun today?”

Neither answered her until they reached Eren’s side, where Levi stood behind him to rub along the back of his neck and Mikasa bent down so she could brush aside the hair falling onto Eren’s face. “Got you to keep your filthy hands off of him, didn’t it?” Levi drawled as he gave her a flat look.

“You should take a nap,” Mikasa encouraged Eren. “We told you to take it easy today, yet you still pushed too hard.”

“Uhm, I’m making him some tea right now,” Armin offered as he eyed the three of them, uncertain if Levi and Mikasa were about to start a fight over Eren at any moment. “We’re really sorry – by the time Hange was done helping Eren work out some type of mental filter, I had managed a breakthrough of sorts with the wards and needed his help.”

“Yeah, didn’t see you sic your ghosts on *him*,” Hange huffed.

“Because he wasn’t going on about how having Eren do those mental exercises while shifting into things like a phoenix or a cerberus and stuff.” Levi scoffed as he left Eren to join Armin at the counter, where he glared at the kettle on the stove as if it wasn’t heating fast enough. Armin scooted out of the way and let Levi took over, and winced when he noticed how many spoonfuls of sugar were being dumped in the mug.

“No more three heads,” Eren mumbled as he tilted his face to the side so Mikasa could stroke through his bangs. “Gives me a headache.”

“Yes, we know, too many eyes.”

Hange gave up on glaring at Levi and smiled at Eren. “Though maybe if you could learn to map the nerves to each of the heads and- ow! Stop that!” The glaring resumed after what seemed to be another spirit bumping her chair – but it was Mikasa who hid what appeared to be a smug grin beneath her scarf.

The kettle began to whistle, so Levi poured the tea. “So did you figure out the ward shit?”

Grateful for the diversion, Armin nodded as he went back to the other end of the table. “For the most part – we have it reacting to Eren now so all we need to do is build up on it so it alerts us to whenever anyone with a crystal ward goes through it. Then Hange and I will add it in to the existing wards.”

“That’s if we’re not being harangued by spirits all damn day,” she pointed out in a sickly sweet manner, to which Levi gave her the finger.

“Let Erwin know how far you’ve come along – maybe he can get some of it to Erd and Gunther to help them out.”

Hange’s sour mood faded away as she picked up one of the vials. “Yeah, I heard they got Isabel and Farlan out safe and sound.” She paused as if considering something. “It’s probably best if we keep this to ourselves – we need something in case they come for Eren.”

Armin tensed as he waited for Levi’s reaction, yet all the necromancer did was remain quiet as he poured the hot water into the teapot. “Let Erwin decide,” he said after a few seconds. “He’s best at planning this shit.”

That was a surprising answer, but Armin supposed that Levi was attempting to remain neutral, to not put his need to defend his adopted family before everyone else. He also paid attention to Eren to see if the new mental shield was helping his friend, and was pleased to see that although Eren appeared to gaze at Levi with concern, he wasn’t reacting in pain or struggling with his talent at the moment. “You doing all right?” he asked his friend.

“Huh?” Eren managed to sit up in the chair and shrugged, while Mikasa draped the sweater over his shoulders. “Just… tired.”

Levi returned to the table with a mug and the pot of tea. “Give this another minute and then drink it,” he ordered, his fine brows drawn together and deep voice rough. “Then get some sleep.”

There was a hint of pink on Eren’s cheeks as he took to staring at the table. “Didn’t make the bed,” he mumbled as he accepted the mug.

While Levi clicked his tongue, Mikasa sighed and stood up. “I’ll go build a fire – you can sleep on one of the couches.” She gave Levi a rather bland look before she left. “Someone else can take care of the bed.”

“You volunteering?” Levi called out after her, but he left it at that while he poured the tea into the sugar and milk-filled mug.

“If you need one….” Hange offered with a disturbing grin on her face.

“Shut it, and hell no, you’ve already got enough samples from us,” Levi told her. “Now drink this.” He gave Eren’s right ear a quick flick before he sat down.

“Hmm, but I want to see if there’s any more changes since your bond seems to be deepening.” Hange sat across from them and propped her chin up on her left fist. “Eren took to the mental shields pretty quick.”

“They’re like imaginary wards.” He gestured to his head with his left hand while he held up the mug. “I can still feel you… just farther away.” He frowned at Levi a little before he took a sip, then grimaced. “Gah, too sweet.”

“You need the carbs, so drink it.” Levi threatened him with another flick until Eren whined and resumed drinking the tea. “So we’ve been busy booby-trapping things for the bastards, and now the wards will warn us when they get here?”

Armin realized that the last bit was directed at him. “Yes, or at least they will be by nightfall.”

“Good.” For a moment Levi appeared tired as he fixed the sweater sliding down Eren’s back, then his expression hardened. “Because the sooner we can get everything set up, the better.”

Hange stopped rolling about the vials of Eren’s ‘ward’ to give the necromancer a worried look. “What, you that anxious to fight them or something?”

Levi shook his head. “I just think that they’re not going to be happy when they find out that I didn’t take the bait. Their main goal is Eren, and they seem to be wanting to get at him through me.”

Eren stirred beside him and shook his head. “Then we should figure… I don’t know, some way to draw them in using me.”

Levi wasn’t the only one to shoot down Eren’s suggestion. “Hell no,” Levi barked while Hange shook her head and Armin called out “no!” while hoping that Mikasa was still busy with the fire. “They’re coming for you regardless, don’t give them any added incentive,” Levi insisted while he shoved the mug back up near Eren’s mouth.

It was around then that Erwin sauntered into the kitchen with his phone held in his hand. “Now that sounds like an interesting topic.” He gave Hange an inquisitive look.

“Someone’s being a bit too eager to offer himself up,” she explained while motioning toward a drinking Eren. “Maybe we can tie him up in red ribbon and make it all proper while we’re at it.” She laughed when Levi took to glaring at her.

“Don’t think we need to go that far just yet.” Erwin nodded to Levi as he held up his phone. “They’ve reached the safe house, so now they’ll be on watch to see if any of our ‘friends’ followed them there.” When Levi’s eyes narrowed at the ‘friends’ comment, Erwin turned to Armin. “What about the wards?”

Armin reached for one of the vials near Hange. “Give us a couple more hours and they’ll be done.” He cast a sympathetic glance Eren’s way. “Get some rest and when you wake up, we’ll just need your help for a few minutes, I’m thinking.”

Eren shook his head. “No, I’m better now. I’m – gah!” He dropped the empty mug onto the table when Levi made a flicking motion at his face. “Not funny!”

“Yeah, killer reflexes there, Brat. You, couch-time, now.”

Armin recognized the surly pout on his friend’s face as one that usually surfaced when Eren had reached the limits of his energy but was refusing to go down. “One of these days I’m turning into a dragon and sitting on all of you. *All* of you.” He motioned with his right hand but only in the direction of about half of them, the other half being the kitchen counters. “Poomph.”

“And when you start making up words I know it’s particularly bad.” Levi sighed as he hooked an arm around Eren’s chest and hauled him out of the chair. Eren squawked as he was dragged onto his feet but Levi appeared to have the upper hand in strength and so managed to take him away without much of a fight. “Nice, soft couch right out here. Turn into a fucking cat if it makes you happy, just don’t shed.”

“So mean,” Eren whined as he was hauled out of the kitchen.

“You love it.”

Erwin waved to them as they passed by, his brows drawn together in a frown. “We’re on our own for dinner, aren’t we?”

“I think I saw some frozen pizzas in the freezer,” Hange offered.

“Hmm, maybe Petra won’t mind taking over again, once she’s done resting as well.” Erwin appeared a bit chagrined as he looked at the two of them. “A houseful of talented mages and most of us are horrid at cooking.”

Armin winced as he reached into his bag for some arsenic. “Eren always took care of it for us, and then Mikasa and I survived on take-out once he left. Unless it’s ramen or egg sandwiches, we’re hopeless.”

“Yeah, I relied upon Moblit, basically.” For a moment Hange appeared worn down by sadness, then she shook herself and rallied with a lopsided grin. “We need to figure out how to keep Eren when this is all over.”

“If Levi lets you,” Erwin warned.

Levi and Mikasa. Speaking of the latter, Armin smiled at the two older mages as he stood up. “I need to go fetch some quartz I left up in my room – I’ll be back in a minute.” Both nodded to him as he left, and began discussing if Erwin would be all right running out for supplies the next day.

Heading toward the main room, Armin was heartened to not hear any signs of fighting or feel any flares of magic – just heat as he got closer to the large fireplace. Seeing Mikasa standing a few feet away, he hurried toward her, and was surprised when she held up her right hand as if in warning.

“Huh?”

“Shhh.” She turned toward him, and that was when he noticed that not only was Eren curled up on the larger of the two couches, but Levi was tucked behind him as well, and both of them had their eyes closed.

Mikasa came toward him then motioned for him to follow. “Uhm, they’re both sleeping?” he asked in a quiet voice.

“Eren was being fussy so Levi lay down with him. That calmed him down, and it looks like they both needed the sleep,” she explained.

Levi had seemed tired back in the kitchen, Armin remembered. “And you’re fine with that?” He would have expected that Mikasa would have preferred to be with her brother.

She waited until they were on the steps to say something. “I… it’s clear that Eren is happy with Levi.” She frowned as she twisted her hands in the ends of the scarf. “And that Levi is determined to protect him.”

“Yes, he is,” Armin agreed. “I think there’s a bond between them for a reason.” He knew that she was still trying to accept that, but she did need to hear it.

Mikasa sighed as she gave the scarf a quick tug. “We talked a little, Levi and me. I still think he needs some watching… but you’re right.” She rolled her eyes as if unhappy about acknowledging that Armin had won that argument. “I just wish that so much wasn’t happening to them right now,” she added in a plaintive voice.

“As do I, but maybe they’ll come out all the stronger for it,” he assured her as they neared their room.

“They better, because if Levi doesn’t come through for Eren, he’ll have to answer to me.” Silver flashed in Mikasa’s eyes as she entered the room ahead of Armin.

He sighed as he gave her an exasperated look. “You’re going to be one of those mothers who terrorizes their poor child’s dates, aren’t you? Sitting there on the porch as they arrive at the end of the night, doing background searches on them, slipping geas on them when your child’s back is turned….”

Her smile just then was a frightening thing to behold. “Taking them out to the back yard to point out where I’ll bury their body if they do a single thing to harm my child. Oh yes, you better believe it. Nothing hurts my family.” She turned toward him and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Wait until it’s your turn to date.”

He rubbed his right hand over his face as he groaned. “Please, get all of this out of your system with Eren, all right?”

“Hmm, where’s the fun in that?” She gave him a pleased smile before going over to dresser, where she’d unpacked her clothes, and fetched what looked to be a clean outfit. He thought he heard her humming as she then went into the bathroom, apparently to shower.

No wonder Eren had fallen for the scariest guy around… who happened to be related to Mikasa.

*******

Annie was busy checking the phone when Reiner entered the kitchen with a mostly empty tray in his hands. “You may be happy to know that she ate something this time.”

“That’s good, I suppose.” Annie paused in tapping on the screen to glance at the tray, and noticed that the bowl of soup was almost empty. “She stop ranting yet?”

Reiner sighed as he dropped the tray off near the sink. “Still going on about making Smith’s flesh rot off the next time she sees him, so I’ll say ‘no’.” His face was lined with exhaustion as he sat down at the table. “We have any more po-“

“*No*.” She didn’t need him to finish that sentence to know where he was headed. “Go rob a pharmacy if what’s left of her arm is still hurting her or if you need her to calm down, but no more potions. You know that Tara didn’t send us with that many in the first place.” Alchemy was a rare skill back home, which was why in part it was so important to bring Eren back with them; his ability to use all types of magic would come in very handy. Annie was just grateful that, as nasty as this mission was, it meant that she didn’t have to worry about being sent out to ‘refresh’ the gene pool, to find a latent of some suitable bloodline and return once she was certain she was pregnant with a talented child. She knew it was why Reiner and Bertolt had agreed to the mission as well, to spare themselves from the same.

For a moment it appeared that Reiner was about to argue with her, then he shook his head before motioning toward the phone. “Hit on anything yet?”

She held up the data that had been copied over from the chip that Bert had installed. “Someone sent them a photo. Recognize these two?”

Reiner sucked in a sharp breath at the image of a smiling Eren and Ackerman. “Dammit, what are they doing to him? Is it a spell? Are they lying to him?”

“Who knows?” Annie turned the phone’s screen back to her and stared at it; the smile on Eren’s face appeared genuine, especially since he wasn’t looking at whomever it was who had taken the picture. Could a geas or spell produce an emotion like that? “I’m more concerned with what’s in the background, in trying to find something that matches the stone and the woodwork in the little that we know about the general area Hitch was able to narrow down. The main thing is, they’ve sent something to the tapped phone, maybe they’ll send more.”

“Maybe they’ll call.” Reiner flashed a toothy grin as he leaned back in the chair, some of the exhaustion gone from his handsome face. “Maybe we can do something to *make* them call.”

Annie nodded. “The phone appeared wiped since I couldn’t pull much information from it… but we now have one number to track down, thanks to the photo. It’ll take some time, but I’ll dig up what I can on it, see if I can’t backtrack through it and catch Eren that way.” She pushed away from the table and tucked the phone into the front pocket of her sweatshirt. “In the meantime, get Hitch ready to fight and see if you can’t shake the tree from this other end.”

“You got it.” Reiner slapped the table with his right hand as he grinned. “*Finally* we’re getting somewhere. Just a few more days and we’ll be back home.”

“Yeah.” Annie did her best to work up some enthusiasm. “Don’t get sloppy just yet, though.”

Reiner waved her concern aside, and she didn’t have the energy to argue anymore so she just left. It would take some work to track down the other phone, work she would be happy to do by herself. As she made to leave the small farmhouse where they were currently residing, she pulled out the phone and thumbed back to the new photo; Eren leaned against the necromancer as if it was normal to touch another person like that, and Ackerman allowed him the intimacy, even draped his arm along Eren’s shoulders. To be so close to someone like that, to appear so happy…. Annie’s mouth twisted as she once more powered down the phone and shoved it away. Could magic do that? Could it fake a bond between two people, fake those smiles? Why had Eren fought back that time? Hadn’t Grisha told him *anything*?

Why would he want to be with someone who would use him, would use his ability to hurt his own kind? Who would treat him – Annie shook her head. Focus on the mission. Don’t mix things up, just get the stupid kid and take him back where he belonged. Where they all belonged. Nothing ever good came out of shifters being out here, there was more than enough evidence of that. Eren would thank them for rescuing him eventually.

Still, Annie envied him that smile.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm... setting things up for some other characters to be introduced later on. There was a reason after all for Grisha to be out and about.... I had thought that after wrapping up this part of the story to do a bunch of oneshots, but now I'm thinking there might be another big arc or something. *sighs* All this from one little plot bunny of shifter Eren and necromancer Levi....
> 
> Plus, I really need to update the tags at some point.


	12. Truth will come to light ... at the length, the truth will out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another chapter. A rather long chapter. A chapter where you learn it's not good to mess with Hange....
> 
> Thank you so much for the comments and the kudos! They are always greatly appreciated!

*******

“-really should stop that.”

“Aw *hell* no. These are so going up on the winter solstice mailing flist.”

Levi went to rub at his eyes as he woke up, annoyed by the voices that wouldn’t *shut the fuck up*. “Too loud,” he grumbled as he forced his eyes to open, and then blinked a couple of times as he attempted to figure out where the hell he was; the warm weight settled on top of him was familiar, soft brown hair which tickled his chin and wild magic entwined with his own, but the large room with white plastered walls and wooden beams… ah yeah, the lodge.

He tilted his head to the side to see Hange standing a few feet away with her phone out, the flash busy going off, and acted without much thought by having a spirit knock the damn thing out of her hand. “What the hell?” As she wailed and dived after the device, Mikasa approached the couch with her attention focused on the unconscious brat draped on top of Levi much like a blanket.

“How is he?”

“Eh, dead to the world.” Levi’s voice was rough from sleep; he couldn’t believe that he’d managed a nap like that but as soon as he’d curled up next to Eren to get the damn brat to shut up and stay down, the lack of sleep from the night before had caught up with him. He brushed his right hand along Eren’s forehead, which prompted a faint murmur from his lover. “Seems to be okay, though.”

Mikasa tucked back the hair falling onto her face as she frowned; it looked as if she had changed after lunch, since now she was wearing a pair of blue sweatpants and a red and white sweater. “They shouldn’t have pushed him so much after last night.”

No, they shouldn’t have, but there was a lot of shit that needed done before those bastards came back at them again, and Eren having some sort of mental shields as well as figuring out how to keep the bastards from just waltzing past their wards were at the top of the list. “Not much we can do about it now.”

“Huh.” Mikasa gave Hange a disgruntled look as the blood witch held up her phone in triumph. “Maybe.”

“Oh, your precious brother is fine,” Hange snapped. “Little bit of hard work never killed anyone.”

Mikasa gave her a look that easily translated into ‘no, but *I* might,’, but before Levi could add in a comment of his own, he felt his lover begin to stir. Eren did that whole cheek rub thing and moved about, his hands sliding down Levi’s ribs and hips… ah, yeah, that felt good, that felt… like something he shouldn’t be focusing on with Mikasa and Hange just a few feet away. Gritting his teeth together as his hands grasped Eren’s hips to keep his lover from inadvertently grinding against him again, Levi began to growl out Eren’s name when the brat opened his eyes, which shone a bright gold beneath the heavy lids.

“Eren….”

Levi barely got the name out when Eren… ‘slinked’ was the only word for it forward, his body sliding up Levi’s until their lips met, the kiss insistent and hungry and growing even more demanding as-

“Ah, Eren?”

“Wha?” Eren jerked upright as he squawked upon hearing Mikasa’s voice and would have fallen off of the couch if it wasn’t for Levi’s arms around his hips; he blinked his now normal eyes several times as he gaped at everyone, the blanket that had been draped over them clutched around him as if he was naked beneath it. “Wuh-what?”

Yeah, that was one way to kill the buzz, Levi thought to himself as he groaned while he sat up. “Have a nice nap?”

Eren turned to stare at him, eyes still wide as if he was thinking through what had just been said; Levi could all but see the mental gears whirring in his lover’s head. Oh yeah, someone was *not* all there upon being woken up.

Mikasa made a half laugh/half snorting sound as she came over to them. “We had you lie down because you were exhausted, remember?” She placed a hand against Eren’s forehead and smiled. “You don’t feel warm and you look better than earlier, so it must have helped.”

Eren seemed to relax a little and let out a slow breath. “Oh, yeah, right.” He allowed the blanket to fall down to his hips and smiled, the expression a little nervous. “I feel better, too.”

Done fussing over her phone, Hange shoved it into the pouch attached to her belt and nodded. “That’s good to know. How about your head? The shields still holding up?”

Eren paused a moment and frowned, as if he was concentrating on something. “I think so – Levi’s still there, it’s just a little muted now.” His left hand reached out to touch Levi’s chest as if in reassurance. “It doesn’t hurt anymore, either.”

“Hmm.” Hange seemed to consider that for a moment before she smiled. “Well, that’s good to know.” She was still smiling as she reached into the pouch, this time to pull out what appeared to be a thin pipelet filled with what looked to be blood. “Because here’s hoping he won’t be affected when I use this bit of blood of yours to make you my slave. I’ve always heard about the kinky shit you shifters can do, like the self-lu-“

She didn’t get a chance to say anything else, because as soon as Levi realized that she had still Eren’s blood and was threatening to use it against his lover, a pure rage filled him and made him summon a spirit to snatch at the vial, to knock it from her hand and shatter it before it even hit the ground. At the same time, Mikasa used her threads to wrap them around a laughing Hange while Armin, Petra and Erwin raced into the living room.

“What the hell?” Before Levi could shred Hange’s spirit or Mikasa to choke the bitch, Erwin sent out balls of hellfire as if deterrents. “What are you doing?”

Hange continued to laugh even as Armin tugged at Mikasa and ordered her to let the blood witch go. “She- Eren,” Mikasa attempted to say.

“She threatened Eren,” Levi spat out. Meanwhile his lover sat next to him and frowned.

“Uhm… I don’t know, I didn’t feel anything and she’s all happy.” Eren rubbed at his forehead.

“There’s no killing unless I say so,” Erwin ordered in his ‘he who must be obeyed’ voice. “Mikasa, let her go. *Now*.”

Mikasa dared to match him glare for glare for about two seconds, which was impressive as hell, before she glanced aside and did as she’d been ordered. Hange was still chuckling as the silvery threads vanished, and gave Erwin a cheeky grin.

“Well?” His blue eyes narrowed as he looked her over. “What was that about?”

“Yes, how could you possibly have any of Eren’s blood?” Armin added as he tapped a slippered toe by the mess on the floor. “The one time we saw you take any, you drank it all.”

“Busted!” Hange crowed as she reached out to shove at his shoulder. “It was an old sample I had, nothing important, I just wanted to get a reaction out of Levi.” When everyone stared at her like the lunatic she was, she beamed at Eren. “So, how ya feeling? Any headache? Backlash? No attempt to drain us, I noticed!”

Erwin appeared ready to singe Hange, while Levi was half-temped to shred her soul anyway while Eren rubbed at his forehead again. “Uhm, there’s a little bit of a headache, but nowhere near as bad as last night. Levi’s anger is more… muted now.” He gave Levi a nervous look before he turned his attention back to Hange. “Though I think you might want to go elsewhere for… oh, a week or so.”

“More like a fucking month, you shitty glasses,” Levi muttered. “Don’t even *think* of ever trying something like that.”

“Yes, it would be… most ill-advised,” Mikasa added as she stared down Hange with silver eyes.

“Bring it on, spidergirl.”

“Ah, ah!” Armin hurried to get between the two women while Petra sent a breeze ruffling through the room, which caused the fire to sputter a little. “We’ve a common enemy, the last thing we need is to fight amongst ourselves.” He turned his attention toward Mikasa as Hange huffed and fussed with her glasses. “She was only testing out Eren’s mental shields – the method might have been rather dubious, but her intentions were well-placed.”

Mikasa scoffed as she looked aside, while Levi clicked his tongue. “Don’t try something like that again,”  
he warned his friend.

“Yeah, yeah,” Hange muttered as she waved aside the warning. “Least we know the mental shields are working now.”

“Though they’re not much good when everyone is all upset.” Eren scrubbed at his hair as he did… something, he somehow managed to twist his body about so he fell about Levi’s chest with his back pressed against it and his head tucked in the crook of Levi’s right shoulder. Levi frowned down at his lover even as he wrapped his arms around him then looked over at Mikasa and Armin, both of whom just shrugged and smiled at him respectively as if used to his lover’s antics. Judging from the lingering feel of magic that radiated from Eren, he supposed that it must be a shifter thing and gave the brat’s right ear a quick nip.

Erwin let out a loud sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “May I remind everyone that we have a common enemy – and it’s not ourselves? And speaking of those enemies, what about the wards?”

Armin stopped smiling and jerked about as if startled. “Ah! Yeah, we, uhm, yeah, almost done.” He hastened toward the kitchen. “You think the holly is done rendering?” He appeared to be directing the question toward Hange.

“It should be close,” she agreed as she followed him. Meanwhile, Petra went over to the fire to put on a few more logs.

“If they’re finished in the kitchen, I’ll get started on dinner.” Eren stirred at that, but Levi held on to him. “It’s just going to be some pizzas, nothing too fancy.” She seemed to notice Eren’s reaction and left the fireplace to come pat him on the legs. “Don’t worry, get a little more rest, okay?”

“Yes,” Mikasa agreed. “I’m sure you’ll be helping out after dinner so take it easy for now.” She gave Levi a pointed look before leaving as well.

Eren seemed to tense for a couple of seconds before he let out a breath and relaxed against Levi. “I feel so useless.”

Levi flicked the idiot on the ear. “Yeah, you’re just helping to keep those bastards from sneaking through the wards again, that’s doing nothing.”

“But it is.” Eren knocked his elbow back into Levi’s ribs as he grumbled. “I just do the crystal thing while Armin is all brilliant.”

“Hmm, like how I just play with dead stuff while Erwin does his plotting. You don’t get any sympathy from me.” Levi pinned his lover’s arms to his side to prevent any more blows and smirked when Eren whined in frustration. “What, is it so bad to keep me company?”

Eren stopped trying to squirm free at the question and sighed. “It depends, are you going to make me clean or practice spells? Because usually that’s what we do, that or….” There was a pulse of magic and Eren’s face turned red, making it clear what the ‘or’ meant.

Levi leaned down to nuzzle his lover’s warm ear. “Hmm, not here where anyone can see us,” he murmured, and chuckled when Eren cursed at him. “How about we watch something instead?”

“Eh?” Eren twisted about enough to look up at him. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Levi tipped them over so they could stretch out on the couch, his arms still around his lover, and then had a spirit knock the tv’s remote toward him. “No sappy shit, though. Or some crappy movie that’s been remade like ten times. Or stupid-“

Eren groaned as he snuggled closer to Levi. “Just pick the damn movie or whatever.” He pulled the blanket up over the both of them then hugged Levi’s arm against his chest.

“Someone’s getting all bossy,” Levi griped as he turned on the tv, though he hid his smile as he pressed the bottom half of his face against the top of Eren’s head.

“Says the guy who has the remote.”

“Damn right I do.” Levi gave Eren’s middle a squeeze as he pulled up the menu. “Ooh, look, a medieval history marathon on the History Channel. Score.”

Eren whimpered as he tugged the blanket up higher – Levi blocked him from covering his face and grinned in victory as he changed the channel.

*******

Isabel fisted her hands onto her hips as she gazed around the cabin. “Well, it’s clean at least.” It was clear that the place had been built more in mind for weekend hunting trips or getaways, since it was tiny; there was the main room with a large couch and a small bedroom, only one bathroom and a very basic kitchen – and decorated in *plaid* fabric everywhere. Seriously, who chose plaid as an interior fashion choice? “How long are we supposed to be here?”

Erd gave her an apologetic look as he set aside the bags he’d brought from the truck. “Hopefully just a few days – you two can have the bedroom, we’ll sleep out here.”

“Thanks,” she told him, even if she was about to set fire to the plaid bedspread. “I guess we should set up some sort of wards. I can do air and fire, and Farlan water.”

Gunther nodded as he dropped the bags he’d brought. “I’ll do earth, which should give us a nice set of protections – at least, if we were dealing with anything but those assholes.” He dusted his hands as he met his partner’s eyes. “You going to call Erwin to let him know we’re here?”

Isabel perked up at hearing that, only to frown when Erd shook his head. “I’ll send him a text – don’t want to risk our ‘friends’ overhearing anything.”

“Bah, you just don’t want me chatting with Levi again, do you?” She glared when Erd gave her a patronizing smile; the bastard knew she could create an air ward.

“You’ll see him soon enough, just concentrate on the wards right now.” Erd picked up a bag of groceries and headed to the kitchen as if to ensure he had the last word on the discussion.

Oooh, she should singe the bastard for that, but Farlan was giving her the ‘look’, so Isabel settled for flipping back her hair and went outside instead. But someone was going to find it turning very cold later tonight, yes he was. Funny how the heat wouldn’t work in the main room of the cabin but would be just fine in the bedroom….

“Izzy,” Farlan chided as he fell in step beside her. “I know that look.”

“Hmm, I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” she insisted as she tugged on the end of her left glove. “So, how far out do you think we should set these wards?”

He sighed then motioned to a stump that was about fifty yards from the house. “Might as well do the usual. That all right with you, Gunther?” The earth mage was looking around the cabin as if searching for something.

“Eh, yeah, that should be okay.” He finished searching the ground and then looked up in the air. “Everything seems quiet around here.”

Well, that was enthusiastic as hell. Isabel frowned at the man until Farlan tugged her aside, and then they began to create the wards. She started with fire at first, since it was the element she felt most in ‘synch’ with, and as she willed a barrier of magical energy based on that magic around the cabin, she summoned her wind magic as well and overlaid the two together; having dual magic like that, it made the wards even stronger, the two magics united as they came from the same source. As she worked, Farlan wove his water ward in with hers, long used to working magic together. She missed how it had been all those years ago when she’d first learned about wards and magic, when Levi had added his necromancy as well – even if she’d only known a fraction about spellworking back then. Hopefully soon she’d be able to work magic with him and Farlan again.

“Wow, that’s… that’s damn impressive.” Gunther sounded surprised, and was slow to add his earth magic to the wards they were creating. “Think the only thing that will get past these are those damn shifters.”

“Thanks.” Farlan held on to Isabel’s right hand as they built up the wards. “Crazy to think something can slip through them like that.”

“Yeah.”

Isabel agreed, and perhaps it was the thought of the shifters and the danger they posed that made them work in silence until the wards were finished. As the magic slowly faded away, she wiped at the faint sweat on her face and grinned at her husband. “I think that was a record!”

He shook his head even as he tugged their joined hands toward his chest. “Doesn’t matter how fast they get done, just that they hold,” he chided. When she stuck her tongue out at him for being such a stick in the mud, he rolled his eyes… his smile slipping for a moment before it returned and he pulled her toward the cabin. “I swear, you have to make a contest out of everything, don’t you?”

No she didn’t, and she was about to say that when- oh. “Of course I do, where’s the fun if you don’t?”

“Yeah, but you wear yourself out too quickly by rushing through things.”

Right, as if throwing up a ward made her tired, but she trusted him so she went on with this charade. “It’s not like anyone knows where we are, right? We’ll be safe long enough for me to regain some energy – for both of us to do that.”

Gunther gave them an odd look as he followed them into the cabin, probably because he knew enough about Levi to realize that if they’d grown up with him, they weren’t weaklings. Still, he didn’t say anything until they were in the cabin, and Isabel managed a quick air ward to muffle any sounds enough to prevent things from being heard clearly. “Ah, something going on?”

Farlan gave Isabel’s hand a quick squeeze before he let it go. “The hawk is back.”

Gunther stared at him in confusion while Erd stopped typing on his phone. “Wait, the hawk from yesterday?” the water mage asked while Isabel fought the urge to go outside and burn the damn thing.

“Yes.” As if reading her mind, Farlan reached over to hug her close. “The same one – I don’t know if they think we’re stupid, unobservant or don’t care if we’ve figured it out. It’s just outside of the new wards.”

“Shit.” Gunther made an arrested movement toward the window before he seemed to rethink his actions. “It must have followed us.”

“Looks like Erwin was right.” Erd’s brown narrowed as he resumed typing. “The bastard probably wants us to notice it, to start freaking out. It wants us to do something rash, like call for Levi or Eren.”

“It’s one thing to be told this, it’s another to see it be played out.” Farlan stared at the nearest window before he shook his head.

Isabel held up her right hand, which was covered with golden flames. “Yeah, well how about I turn it into a nice tasty dinner, hmm?”

Farlan sighed as he batted at her forearm until the flames vanished. “How about you don’t? We knew that the thing would probably follow us, that it was hoping for Levi. Now we have to wait to see what it does, right?” He directed the question toward Erd.

The water mage sighed as he looked at his phone. “Yeah, that’s Erwin’s plan, pretty much. We wait and see what these bastards do, while Erwin figures out something to take them out.”

Isabel cast a few sparks his way as added incentive. “Tell Erwin to hurry up with the damn plan, because I’m only going to be spied on for so long before I see how good barbequed hawk tastes, understood?”

Erd gave her a harried look before he resumed texting, while Farlan sighed. “Come on, let’s start unpacking,” her husband told her as he bent down to pick up their bags. “Time to check out our bedroom for the near future.”

“Better be a decent mattress beneath that awful bedspread,” Isabel muttered as she followed him into the small bedroom. Bad enough to be spied on by a murderous shifter, she refused to be stuck sleeping on a lousy bed as well.

*******

“It looks like that phone hasn’t been used much in the last few days – the towers are rather remote and they’re not showing much activity.”

Annie leaned forward to look at the map that Howard had pulled up on the monitor, at the blinking blue dots. “Print that out for me.”

Caught under the influence of geas, the mobile tech bobbed his head as he hurried to obey. “Yes, ma’am.” His fingers flew over the keyboard and the printer whirred to life.

“Also, indicate which tower was used when,” she told the young man.

“Yes, ma’am.” He smiled as he followed her instructions, the expression almost a grimace as it stretched across his pale face.

It was a shame that he was proving to be so helpful, she thought to herself as more information was printed out; she wished she could walk away from the store and let the young man finish closing up, could order him to forget what had happened tonight but there were cameras, was a security system in place and he was a normal. If it was bad enough to have someone from the magic community find out about her, it was a thousand times worse to have the *normals* realize that there were shifters out there, to know that magic existed. No, best to make this look like some sort of crime, even if all Howard had done wrong was to be the last one left in the building tonight.

Annie’s father had told her that a fighter needed to be strong, that a fighter never quit until the battle was won. She wondered if he ever had an innocent young man’s blood on his hands, if he had ever done anything other than seduce a poor latent woman and then walked off with her daughter one day, had taken that daughter back home and then raised her to be a murderer….

*Focus.*

“Ma’am?”

She realized that she had allowed herself to be distracted and shook her head as she went to fetch the printouts. After she looked them over and tucked them into the pocket of her sweatshirt, she went back over to Howard. “What about the other numbers on the phone?”

“Uhm, I can print those out to, but I don’t know what good they’ll do you, they look like prepaid phone accounts as well so you can’t trace who owns them either.”

“Try a few of them, see if they match up to the same cell towers.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Howard began to sweat, probably as he attempted to fight the geas, but he was a normal, was someone with no familiarity to magic and so had no idea how to resist it, and did as she’d asked. It took some time, but she had another map, this time with fewer towers.

“Print out both the map and the list of phone numbers.” She might need those other numbers if by some chance they’d moved Eren in the last day or two. Once she’d collected those sheets of papers, she paused to consider if she needed any other information and couldn’t think of anything.

It wasn’t as if she couldn’t just find another store and another tech like Howard, though she hated using people like this. Certain that she’d gotten all of the information that she could at the moment, she went back to Howard. “Erase all signs of what you just did.”

“Ma’am?” He stared at her in confusion. “I’m not sure – how am I to do that?”

She sighed as she accepted that she’d have to do this the hard way. “Then close your eyes.” Howard frowned but did as he’d been told, a young man who reminded a little too much of Bertolt even if he wasn’t quite as tall and had brown eyes instead of green. Annie grit her teeth as she pulled a knife from the back of her pants. “Don’t move, and don’t scream.” As soon as she gave that order, she shoved the blade up beneath Howard’s sternum, just as her father had taught her.

Howard let out a slight gasp as the blade went in, his body rigid for a couple of seconds and then he crumpled onto the ground. She watched him fall, watched the blood seep out from around the blade and his body still, and only when she was certain that he was dead did she turn toward the stand where the monitor was to look for the computer.

It took a few seconds, but she found the device and, using her magic, sent a magnetic pulse to fry the memory. Once the screen went blank, she used her claws to tear into the metal, to pull out the fried hard drive and then threw what remained of the device across the room, where it crashed into a display of phones; that might not explain everything but it was better than nothing. Then she hurried from the store, leaving Howard’s dead body behind.

She headed to an alley about a block away, and once in the shadows, shifted out of the random form she’d assumed earlier as she’d walked down the street. Some middle-aged woman was going to be in for a surprise if the video footage from the store was circulated, but it wasn’t Annie’s problem. No, right now she needed to check out those towers and find Eren.

Taking out the print outs as well as her phone, she called Reiner; he picked up on the third ring. “I have some leads,” she told him while she dropped the ruined hard drive to the ground and stomped on it.

“And hello to you, too. How long do you think it’ll take you to find him?”

She studied the second map for a few seconds. “Maybe tomorrow if I’m lucky, another day if I’m not. What’s going on at your end?”

“Bert’s watching them, has them on edge, and Hitch is back on her feet. How about we try that ‘shaking the tree’ thing tomorrow, see if we can’t split up Eren’s guards a little?”

Annie considered the proposal. “I can always sneak in and get into place then wait for you. We don’t know how many mages they have watching over Eren now, and drawing off a few would be a good idea.” They had to be worried now with them picking off so many of Smith’s men, and having come so close to rescuing Eren before. “I’ll send pictures of the maps so you have an idea of where I’m headed, and text you when I find out for certain.”

Reiner let out an excited whoop of laughter. “Yes! I told you we’d be home soon!”

She shook her head as she straightened out the pieces of paper. “Don’t get too cocky just yet, I have to make sure these leads pan out and you still need to do your part.”

“Yeah, yeah. Have fun flying about.”

Annie wished Reiner was within reach so she could kick him, but figured it would be good enough to finish the mission and be done with having to put up with him. She took the pictures and sent them to the pain in the ass, then dug out the small bag she’d stashed behind the dumpster so she could stick the pictures and the phone inside of it; she’d have to shift into a rather large bird to be able to carry it, but this late at night, humans didn’t tend to notice odd things like that.

The bag ready, she took off the clothes and shifted; once in the shape of an abnormally large black eagle, she picked the bag up in her right talons and then launched herself into the air.

*******

Erwin sighed as he read the latest message from Erd and pushed away his plate of pizza. Across the table, Levi set aside his half-eaten slice of pizza and scowled. “What? What is it now?”

Trust the man to notice the minute details. Erwin waited to finish his glass of beer before he replied, during which everyone else paused in eating their dinners to stare at him. “Erd has informed me that one of the shifters has definitely followed them to the new location.” He held up his left hand when Levi’s grey eyes narrowed and he appeared ready to say something. “It’s doing the same thing it did back at Farlan and Isabel’s house, it’s just watching.”

Levi clicked his tongue while beside him, Eren squirmed in his seat as if uncomfortable; he stilled when Levi began to rub at the back of his neck. “Yeah, but for how long?”

“We talked about this – I believe they will have a couple of days while the shifters try to provoke you into action.” Erwin sighed as he wished that he had another beer. “Now that we have the new potions that counter-act their two main abilities, we can start planning on how to go on the offensive.”

Armin nodded as he rose from the table, heading to the counter to start the coffee machine. “Yes, Hange and I have finished the one for the wards, we just wanted to confirm it with Eren after dinner.”

Erwin believed the alchemist because he knew Hange wouldn’t relax until the issue was solved, not when she wanted revenge for Moblit, Mike and Nanaba. “So we’ll have reliable defenses by tonight, good.”

“Fantastic, it doesn’t do Isabel, Farlan, Gunther and Erd any favors,” Levi pointed out. “Does it?”

“Uhm, they do have the other potion, right?” Eren leaned against Levi, which caused some of the tension in Levi’s body to relax. “Wasn’t that part of the reason you had Armin make some more?”

“Yes, I did send Erd and Gunther off with a few vials, but not too many because we didn’t have a lot at the time.” Erwin sent Levi a reassuring look as he tapped his phone against the table. “I’m going to head into town tomorrow, let me make some calls there. Mike and Nanaba were two of our strongest, as was Dita, but there are a couple of others who can be of use when taking on these other shifters. If I can talk them into coming here… with the new wards and the potion, we’ll then pull in your sister and brother-in-law and make the stand here.”

As soon as he said the words, there was a reaction: Levi yanked a stunned Eren against him as if to physically protect his lover, Petra gasped, Armin cocked his head to the side while Mikasa stood up in a rush and Hange frowned.

“Who are you thinking about?”

“You’re not using my brother as bait!”

“That’s a big fucking risk you’re taking.”

Erwin nodded to Levi while he addressed Mikasa’s statement first. “I’m not using Eren as bait - in regards to the fact that by his very existence, he’s ‘bait’. It’s better to know that they’re coming here than to be taken by surprise… which they’ll do eventually. They’re too determined and too resourceful.”

Mikasa glanced back and forth between him and Eren. “But… we don’t know that for certain.”

“I have to agree with him.” Hange tapped a piece of pizza crust against her plate as she nodded. “They’re not going to give up until they’re dead or they have Eren, so at least this way, we have some control of the situation. I just want to know who you think can stand up to them when they already took out some of our best.”

Erwin set his phone on the table and leaned back in his chair. “I was hoping that Shadis, Thomas and Lynne.”

Hange considered the choices for a moment and nodded again, while Levi’s expression became bland, a sign that he at least didn’t disagree. “Eh, Shadis is up there in years but he’s still powerful and knows his shit. Thomas isn’t that young, either, but he’s reliable as hell, and Lynne trained with Mike and Nanaba. Yeah, it could work. Especially since we can take out that fancy ward of theirs.”

Eren shook his head and pulled away a little from Levi as he glanced back and forth between Hange and Erwin. “Ah, you know they can do more than the ward, right? I mean, I survived by myself all this time without knowing about it. All it took was shifting into something nasty enough to handle the problem.” He held up his right hand, which now sprouted an impressive set of claws as well as what appeared to be golden scales. “You saw it back at that guy’s house.”

He must mean Dita’s farm. “Which is why we had Petra, Levi and your sister work on taking out their advantage in the air,” Erwin told him. “We’re limiting what they can do.”

Eren still didn’t appear to be convinced. “I fought whenever I could in my giant form unless things got desperate because I didn’t like people knowing what all I could do.” His hand returned to normal as he resettled back against Levi. “They fought like that the first time, and then they came at you in different shapes.”

“Yes, after they lost,” Armin added as he fussed with the brewing coffee. “We all agree that they let Erwin go during the second fight, which shows just how much more powerful they are when they use non-human shapes.”

Petra reached for and began to stack the empty plates around her, as if needing something to do. “Now they’ll have my magic to contend with – my magic and the spirits Levi and Mikasa set up as well.”

“And they’ll lose their precious anti-magic wards,” Hange pointed out with some satisfaction. “Don’t forget that.”

Armin sighed as he poked at the half-full pot of coffee. “I know… just don’t forget that it seems we’ve a population of shifters that have existed for how long who’ve managed to survive without being caught. I believe that should be taken into consideration, too.”

Erwin bowed his head in acknowledgement of what the alchemist was trying to say. “Understood. Which is why I feel it’s safe to move only now that we have these new potions and with some additional help.”

Levi made a clicking noise as he shook his head. “Shadis is good but… we’ll see. Might be better to do with less people in a fight if they’ll just get in our way.”

Someone always had to be a contrary bastard, didn’t they? Erwin gave his friend a flat look. “Make up your mind, because I’m leaving in the morning.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Levi clicked his tongue again as he rose up from the table, Eren quick to follow. “Be sure to let me know if anything changes at the safe house.”

“I will.”

“Uhm….” Armin stared after his friend as if wanting to say something.

“We’ll be out in the living room,” Levi answered as he rolled his eyes. “Get your mind out of the gutter.” Meanwhile, Eren took to hiding his face with his hands and muttering something that sounded like ‘kill me now’.

It was going to be one of those nights, Erwin could tell; he sighed as he got up to go fetch another beer before he went up to his room and figured out how to ask three more friends to risk their lives.

*******

It wasn’t too far from the second cell tower she was checking out that Annie noticed a plume of smoke in the distance and went off to investigate; out here in the mountains, the inhabited buildings were few and far between, were hunting cabins or retreats of some kind, most of them closed up until their rich owners decided to pay a visit. The vast space with all of the trees reminded Annie a bit of back home, though the growth wasn’t as old and the land more mountainous than the territory protected by the most powerful wards she’d yet to come across.

The smoke’s ‘closeness’ was a bit of an illusion, as it took her some effort to fly across the valley and up half the mountain to near it, and she was mindful of being spotted now that the sun was up. Landing on a large cedar tree a hundred yards or so back from what appeared to be a lodge of some kind, she snagged the bag on a sturdy branch and then inched a little closer to the end so she could study the building.

She recognized the beat-up hatchback that had been back at the blood-witch’s house, and there was a motorcycle and a dusty coupe parked nearby as well. That was good enough reason to investigate for her, so she picked up the bag in her beak and dove for the ground. As soon as she landed, she shifted back into her human form and reached into the bag to pull out the map and her cellphone.

Reiner answered it on the second ring, which told her that he was either expecting the call or getting nervous. “You find them?”

She winced at how loud his voice came through the phone even though she was far enough away from the lodge that no one could hear. “It looks like it, there’s a lodge by the tower near the Twinpeaks River – I’m going to sneak in. What’s going on there?”

There was a shuffling sound as if Reiner was checking his map. “Huh, okay, that’s a bit out of the way. I left Hitch bitching up a storm, and it looks like the folks here are getting antsy.” Bert said something in the background, but Annie couldn’t make it out. “They don’t seem to be getting along very well.”

And Annie was supposed to care about that? “Maybe someone was hoping Ackerman would show up by now.”

“Weren’t we all?” Reiner scoffed as there was more shuffling. “Now that you’ve found Eren, can we finally have some fun here?”

Annie peered at the house for a moment; from the looks of it, there had to be several mages with Eren because of the three vehicles, perhaps more if they were dropped off; it wasn’t a bad plan to try to siphon away a few people with a rescue attempt. “Remember, you have to leave someone alive to make the call for help.”

“I know, just like last time.”

“Then wait for me to call you to tell you if it worked – give me at least half an hour and I should be in a good spot to see their reactions,” she continued.

“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t do anything stupid like try to take Eren out of there on your own,” Reiner insisted. “We’ve come too far to mess up now.”

“Worry about yourselves,” Annie told him before she hung up. She stared at the phone in her hand and fought with the impulse to throw it aside before she tucked it back inside the bag, then was careful to stash the bag against the tree with some fallen leaves over it as camouflage. Once that was done, she concentrated and shifted into a small, weasel-like shape, her fur colored to blend in with the ground beneath her crystal armor.

Get into the building, find out how many mages there were, wait for the boys’ diversion to see how many of the mages fell for it, and then slip out again to let them know. If along the way she could find out what they were doing to Eren, if it was torture or if they had managed to imprint on him somehow…. One thing at a time, she reminded herself. Gather the necessary intel and then wait for the boys to complete the rescue mission.

She exited the woods and crept across the open ground, staying in the shadows as she neared the lodge. There was a shiver, a slight sense of pressure as she crossed the wards a little farther out than she would have expected, and no more than a foot or so later she felt the earth tremble beneath her. Confused for a moment, she barely had time to react, to shift as decaying hands burst from the earth and grabbed at her.

Shifting into her armored fighting form helped to break free from the revenant – at least, *that* revenant, but more of them were clawing their way out from the earth, and spirits knocked into her as she struggled to understand what was happening – how did they know she was there? No one was outside – no one *had* been outside, but now people were pouring out of the house; Ackerman, the blood-witch, the Jorōgumo and the alchemist, and some unknown mage. No Eren, though.

“Stay the fuck inside,” Ackerman yelled as he motioned with his right hand, and another spirit slammed into Annie while a revenant appeared near the steps with blades in either skeletal hand; the necromancer barely slowed down as he snatched up the weapons and came running at her. “Just one of you?”

“It’s more than enough,” she told him as she grew taller, grew bigger, the crystal armor glistening in the sunlight as she slashed her clawed hands through the damn spirits surrounding her.

“Keep him safe,” the Jorōgumo told the blond alchemist as silvery, tentacle-like threads whipped into being from the back of her hands and lashed about as if alive. The alchemist nodded and remained on the porch.

Meanwhile, the blood-witch ran to keep up with Ackerman, a huge grin on her face as she held what looked to be something in her hands. “Oh, this is going to be fun!”

Ackerman clicked his tongue and nodded to the Jorōgumo, the only warning Annie had, and then she was fighting both of them at the same time, was fighting cursed blades and those damn threads that fought to cling to her crystal armor – she bared her teeth at them, at the rush of necromancy as they used spirits to power their blows, the kicks to her arms and head, used the undead to shield their own bodies from her attacks.

“You’re not so clever,” she spat out as she in turn grabbed the threads and used them to throw the Jorōgumo at Ackerman.

“Got that wrong!” Slipping into Annie’s blind-spot while she was distracted by the other two, the blood-witch grinned as she pitched two vials of something at Annie – and then laughed as a gust of wind tumbled her out of the way before Annie could rip out her guts.

What had been the point of – shit. *Shit!* “Shit!” Annie clawed at herself as something ate through the crystal armor, had it cracking and disintegrating while agony shot along her nerves. “What did you do?” Annie’s shape went into flux, began to shift into something smaller, into something with longer arms and bigger claws as she struggled against the pain. “What is this?” she shrieked. She couldn’t reform the armor, couldn’t do much of anything – and a rush of spirits knocked her onto her ass.

“It’s payback, you fucking bitch – or whatever you are,” the blood-witch snarled as she appeared ready to lash out with a spell. Not wanting to be around for that, not with her armor gone, Annie swiped her claws at a revenant closing in and used it as a shield while she sprouted wings then launched herself into the air –

Only to end up smacked back down to the ground, pain once more shooting through her from the broken bones in her wings; she had barely gained any altitude when she’d been snatched up by wicked cross-currents and spirits, twisted about and sent back the way she’d come. Gasping both from the pain and the suddenness of the improbable attack, she struggled to shift again, to protect herself, and grew the thickest, most impervious skin she could manage in order to deflect the myriad spells hurled her way.

The hard, almost iron-like scales deflected most of the blood-witch and wind mage’s attacks, and the revenants were like mites that she knocked aside with a flick of her long, supple body. She rose up and hissed as the necromancer and Jorōgumo approached, fire and venomous fumes pouring from her mouth, and only the wind mage’s quick thinking spared the two – this time. No, she would crush them before their spells could take effect, would sink her fangs into their weak bodies, would burn them as the venom made them weak.

“Eren, no!”

Threads lashing at her eyes made her flinch, but a flick of her tail and the Jorōgumo dived out of her way, which left Ackerman in her sights. Annie hissed again, the air thick with toxic venom, and drew breath so she could exhale flames. Just as they began to pour out, there was a flash of gold and green, was a ferocious roar that made the breath stutter out of her.

Something sinuous and shiny wrapped itself around Ackerman, something with sharp, white teeth and lashing claws, with molten eyes and gold scales tipped in green and blue and radiating such potent magic. Eren – Eren had shifted into a dragon, a long, sinewy dragon, fragile wings spread wide and body twisted around Ackerman as if a living cage… or shield. He bared his fangs at Annie while she stared in shock, the only warning she had before raging fire poured out from his mouth.

She roared, not only from the shock of Eren protecting his own captor, but from the realization that the fire was burning her – was *draining* her magic. Desperate to escape, she writhed about - and found herself caught in a glowing white web, in the Jorōgumo’s threads that tightened around her even as her basilisk shape shrunk and her human form emerged. Eren didn’t stop until she was done shifting, until there was a deep rumble from far away, and the last thing Annie could feel was the awful fire flickering away as those cool threads wrapped around her, cutting her off from the world until everything was dark.

*******

“Yes! Yes!”

Judging from Hange’s demented shrieking, Levi was going to say that the shifter bitch – assuming she was a bitch, from the earlier form – was down for the count; it was a little difficult to tell when one had a fucking dragon all but draped over them. “Oi! Brat! Stop with the fireworks, okay?” He smacked the flat of one of his swords against Eren’s scaly side.

There was a slight rumble as Eren obeyed, then he twisted his long-ass neck around to peer at Levi; his eyes were huge and cat-like in the triangular head, his scaly skin soft and supple when Levi reached out to smack his narrow nose with the back of his hand. “You were supposed to stay inside, dumb-ass.”

That provoked another faint rumble as Eren fluttered his huge, gold and green wings, his magic fluctuating for a couple of seconds.

“And what’s with this shape? I thought you were going to sit on us? You can’t sit on shit like this – well, maybe Petra.” As dragons went, Eren was a bit on the scrawny side, but he certainly was fast as hell and flexible.

“Uhm, I think he has a bit too much Eastern influence in his dragon,” Armin explained as he approached, his leather bag clutched in his hands. “And he’s not good at staying on the sidelines when friends are in trouble.” He looked past them at whatever Hange, Mikasa and Petra were doing. “Did manage to take down the shifter without draining everyone, though, so that’s a win.”

Levi grunted as he gave Eren another smack with his right blade for not listening to him before stabbing both of them into the ground so one of the revenants could take them back. “As long as there’s not another shifter lurking about – and let go of me.” Yeah, okay, so his lover did a good job of keeping his ass from being fried, there was such a thing as overkill.

Eren huffed a little, which caused sparks to shoot from his mouth, before he uncoiled himself from Levi. As soon as he was separate, Eren shifted back into human shape – a *naked*, human shape – and rubbed at the back of his neck. “Would the others let her get captured like that?”

“Maybe, who knows with them.” Levi clicked his tongue as he dragged off his sweater and shoved it at Eren’s chest. “Put that on,” he ordered, and waited until Eren did before he headed over to the others; Armin followed with an amused smile on his face.

From the looks of it, Mikasa had mistaken the damn shifter for a fly or something with the way the bastard was completely encased in thread. “Not that I care too much, but can they breathe in there?”

Hange adjusted her glasses as she looked up from the glowing white cocoon. “Yeah, I’m monitoring our guest’s vitals.” She smiled when she saw Eren, who had tagged along as if Levi’s shadow. “You did a really good job, knocking the wind out of her sails!”

Eren shuffled closer to Levi, the sense of his magic stronger than usual. “Uhm, it was a little easier this time since I could focus on the person hurting everyone else.” His eyes flared gold for a moment. “Or wanting to hurt everyone else.”

“Yeah, that was an impressive trick, the breathing venom and fire shit.” Levi nodded at Petra. “Thanks for trying to clear the air.”

She blushed a little at the praise. “It was difficult, and I was relieved when Eren stepped in to save you.”

“So we know the potion knocks out their wards, but they’ll try to compensate by taking on forms like these – I know, you said something along those lines,” Armin held up a hand in Eren’s direction.

Mikasa dusted off her hands as she stood up. “And that the changes we made to the wards kept them from flying away or sneaking in. You guys did a good job of-“

Hange made a rude noise to cut her off. “Yeah, yeah, everyone’s brilliant and we can spend time later patting each other on the back or doing a critical analysis, but right now?” She rubbed her hands together while giving the wrapped shifter a kick. “Time to crack this bitch open for some intel, right?” Her eyes flared red as she gazed at them – at Levi in particular.

He sighed as he wrapped an arm around Eren’s waist. “We’re not going to wait for Erwin to return?”

“I can keep her – and yeah, it’s a her, I can tell that much from touch – knocked out until he does, but why wait that long? We’ve got phones, we can record everything and keep her alive until he gets back,” Hange argued.

Erwin would probably bitch, but Isabel and Farlan were out there, as were the other two shifters, so Levi didn’t have the heart to argue. “Fine, let’s get her into the house.” He gave Eren’s right hip a pat. “And you, go put on some clothes.”

Eren stirred against him at the command but didn’t pull right away. “Uhm, all right.” He looked up at Levi for a few heartbeats and then reached out, his fingers sliding into Levi’s hair as he tugged Levi’s head down, his lips soft as he initiated a kiss that was more an exchange of breath than passion. Levi’s fingers fisted in the soft sweater as heat and energy flowed into him, probably a good bit of the magic Eren had stolen from the shifter that chased away the cold and the exhaustion of the fight. “Don’t….” Eren shook his head rather than finish that sentence.

Still, Levi thought he knew what his lover was trying to say. “We’ll do what we have to do,” he told him, his voice ragged. “Now go put on some damn pants and fetch me a sweater.” His hand slid around to get in a quick fondle of Eren’s barely covered ass, which earned him a furious blush.

“Mean bastard,” Eren muttered as he hurried away, hands on the hem of the sweater to keep his assets covered, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips and his magic was calm.

“Ahem?”

Levi looked away from his lover to see that Mikasa had a revenant pick up the wrapped shifter and was staring at him. “Yeah?”

“If you’re ready.”

“Oh yeah, just love torturing people, it makes my day.” Still, he gestured for the remaining revenants to resettle back into the earth except for one, which followed Mikasa’s; he also had most of the spirits return to their previous positions. “Just so you know, I’m not cleaning up the fucking mess.”

Hange rolled her eyes as she fell in step beside him. “You know, there’s help for people like you. The first step is admitting that you have a problem.”

He should have kept one of the swords a little longer, he thought as he smacked her in the ribs. “Ha, ha.”

She laughed, the sound marred with a hint of pain. “It’s true! Ah well, I’ll just stay away from the messier diseases.” She hummed a little as they climbed the steps to the porch. “Your honey was in rare form today – I want to see him do that dragon again when he’s not being all ‘rawr’ protective of you.”

Levi rubbed his arms as they went inside; without Eren’s warmth, it was too damn cold to be outside without a sweater. “He shouldn’t have joined the fight.”

Hange made another rude noise. “You might have become charcoal if he hadn’t – I don’t know if these other shifters have a limited ability to cast other types of magic, like Eren, or if it’s just that their shifting ability is so far advanced that they’re able to replicate the biological changes that allow creatures like a basilisk to create venom and produce fire.” She seemed to think of something as she closed the door. “It might be the latter, as it would explain why she couldn’t incapacitate us with a look alone.”

Great, the lunatic was at it with the theories again, Levi thought as he rubbed at his temples. Meanwhile, he found Armin busy with a dry erase marker on a clean patch of the stone floor, scribbling out some runes that normally worked to short-circuit a mage’s magic for a precious few seconds, while Petra stood nearby with one of the chairs from the kitchen. “Oi, you think that’ll work?”

Armin paused to shrug. “It can’t hurt, and I’ve some potions as well.” He frowned as he added a squiggly line to one of the runes. “They’re not entirely effective on Eren, but they work a little. Combine the two and at least it’s something.”

Hange went over to the revenant and poked at the wrapped bundle in its arms. “There’s me as well – once she’s unwrapped and I get a drop of her blood, I should be able to negate a lot of her ability.”

Levi clicked his tongue as he leaned against the mantle of the fireplace, grateful for its warmth. “Just as long as you can keep her from turning into a giant or a fucking lizard again.”

“Oh ye of little faith,” Hange scoffed.

Meanwhile, Mikasa frowned as she tugged on the ends of her scarf. “She just better not be able to harm Eren.”

Yeah, count on *someone* to have their priorities straight. Before Levi or anyone else could say something, there was a clatter from above as a dressed Eren hurried down the steps, one of Levi’s sweaters in his hands and his eyes fluctuating between their lovely dark turquoise color and a glowing gold. “You didn’t start yet?”

“No.” Levi accepted the dark blue sweater and, once it was on, tugged Eren to him until his lover’s back was pressed against his chest. “Don’t go near her, okay? I mean it.” He wouldn’t allow what the shifter wanted most within her reach – if he thought that Eren wouldn’t be a stubborn little shit about it, he’d tell his lover to stay up in their room, but knew it wasn’t worth the fight.

Eren’s magic flared for a couple of seconds before it settled, warm and wild and soothing to Levi. “All right.” He hugged Levi’s arms around him tighter as if needing reassurance. “Be careful,” he called out.

Armin glanced up from the nearly finished runes and nodded, his expression closed off as if he wasn’t looking forward to what was about to happen. “We will.” His eyes narrowed as he turned toward an impatient Hange. “Look, I know you want revenge for Moblit and the others, and I understand. But we need answers.”

Hange’s red eyes narrowed and for a moment Levi thought she was going to flip out, but she let out a slow breath instead. “I won’t ask nicely, but I’ll ask her what we need to know, okay?”

Armin had the balls to meet her gaze for several seconds before he nodded, then added one last rune. “All right, it’s ready.”

Petra hurried forward with the chair. “Here you go. I can also put up a wall of air in case she tries to gets away, and I’ll film this for Erwin.” There was a tightness to her voice, probably because she was fine with fighting but not so much with torture.

“That’ll work.” Hange paused to give Petra’s arm a reassuring squeeze before she motioned to Mikasa. “Now for our guest of honor.”

Mikasa’s eyes flared silver as the revenant moved forward, and when it set the bundle on the chair, the silvery-white threads began to unravel and reform, to expose the unconscious shifter as it bound her to the chair. Levi had just gotten glimpse of her ‘human’ form through Moblit’s eyes and before Mikasa had wrapped her up outside, and was surprised that she was so small, that she appeared so young. The threads covered up most of her nudity, but Armin still made an uncomfortable sound and went to fetch a blanket from one of the couches, which he draped over her shoulders.

Hange rolled her eyes over his gentlemanly behavior and pulled a small razor out of her pouch, which she used to nick the shifter’s right ear after tucking back the loose blonde hair falling about the shifter’s face and shoulders. Similar to Eren, a few drops came forth before the wound healed, but Hange got what she needed, which she picked up with her finger and raised to her mouth. “Ahh…,” she rasped as she closed her eyes, a slight smile on her lips. “Oh yeah, definitely shifter blood.” When she opened her eyes, she smiled at Eren. “You guys are related, you know?”

Eren stirred in Levi’s arms, his magic fluctuating once again. “Eh?”

“Oh, nothing too big, you’re cousins a few generations removed – I get the feeling it might be a closed community, comparing your father’s genes to her dad’s.” Hange frowned as she stared off in the distance, her fingers flicking about in the air. “Is it a paternal trait? But *she’s* a shifter, so I don’t think so. Why are both mothers latent mages? So many questions, and I-“

“Hange!” Levi used a spirit to knock the lunatic’s glasses askew. “*Focus*, you crazy shit.”

She gave him the finger as she pushed the glasses back in place. “Fine, fine, I’ll figure it out later. So there’s some similarities with Eren, but yeah, now that I have something to compare his blood to, it makes his key nature stand out even more.” She tapped the top of the shifter’s head as if dealing with an inanimate object. “I think she has some hyped up ability with earth magic, but that’s probably it.”

Armin stood to the left of the chair and rummaged through his leather bag. “Well, I have some potions that should help out.” He held up several. “This will break any geas she might be under, such as not to reveal any secrets, and this usually works against earth magic. And, well, this will help make her cooperate with us.”

Eren shuddered as Armin handed over the vials to a curious Hange. “They contact or ingestion?”

“They’re most effective via ingestion, but they work somewhat via contact,” Armin explained.

“Don’t worry, I can make sleeping beauty here swallow before we wake her up.” Hange grinned in a disturbing manner as she uncapped the vials, and Eren wasn’t the only shuddering just then.

While Hange put her talent to use, Levi clicked his tongue and debated ordering his revenant outside, before deciding to leave it ‘on guard’ next to Mikasa’s behind the chair. “See the fun you’re missing,” he called out so it was caught on the recording Petra was taking with her phone; he hoped that Erwin returned soon, and not only to help rein Hange in if she got out of control. “How much longer?”

Hange hummed as she tilted the shifter’s chin up. “Just another minute or two.” The shifter’s throat moved as Hange did something to force her to swallow. “I want to give the potions some time to take effect.”

Levi clicked his tongue while Eren stirred against him. “Well, don’t wait too long, there’s no telling what those other two bastards are up to.”

“Make up your mind – I thought you weren’t happy about this,” Hange remarked as she threaded her fingers together and then flexed them until they cracked, while Mikasa shuffled forward as if suspicious about the shifter waking up any second now.

“Do I want a mess on my hands, no?” Levi gave his friend a flat stare while his right hand rose up to comb through Eren’s hair in an effort to calm down his lover. “Just wake up the bitch, get the information we need then put her down – don’t drag this out.”

Hange held his gaze for a couple of seconds then nodded. “Agreed.” Her expression softened a little as she looked at Levi’s lover. “Eren… honey, you know we’re doing this to keep you safe, right?”

Eren’s magic flared and his fingers dug into Levi’s left arm for a moment. “I don’t- she should just be dead.” For a moment he didn’t sound like himself, his voice was low and rough. “She tried to hurt you, to hurt Levi. She should be *dead*.” His magic flared again, and Levi tugged on Eren’s hair before he did something impulsive like drained even more magic from the unconscious shifter – could he take too much?

While Levi distracted Eren, Mikasa hurried over and cupped Eren’s face with her hands. “Hey, it’s all right.” Her voice was quiet and gentle. “We’re all right, and we need to do this, okay? You don’t need to kill her.”

“Well, not yet,” Hange added, then yelped when Armin punched her in the arm and hissed something at her that made her become serious right away.

Eren was stiff for a few more seconds and then let out a shuddering breath. “Oh-okay. If you say so.” He let go of Levi’s arm with his right hand so he could touch Mikasa’s scarf. “This time.”

There was an odd, somewhat confusing look on Mikasa’s face as she touched the scarf as well – it was as if she grateful for something, and a little sad. “No, not this time.” She stepped away with some reluctance, leaving Levi with the impression that there was some damn story behind Eren’s reaction and that shitty scarf… and he’d have to figure it out later. After the whole torture thing and saving Isabel and Farlan, and a ton of other shit.

He gave Eren’s hair a gentle tug. “Done spazzing out?”

Eren whined a little and batted at his hand. “Not spazzing.”

“Okay, done being a bloodthirsty little shit?”

“… shut up.”

“That’s a ‘yes’.” Levi hid a smirk in his lover’s unruly hair when Eren gave his shin a weak kick before he nodded at Hange. “Any day now.”

“Just waiting for you guys to finish with the drama.” Hange grinned when Levi made his revenant lurch in her direction. “Yeah, yeah, I know, time to get down to business.”

Petra held up her phone. “Wait, let me start recording again.” She moved over to the side even as her mouth twisted in a moue of distaste. “Warn me if things are going to get messy, okay?”

“Why, weak stomach?”

“No, I like this sweater and don’t want blood stains or worse on it.”

“Understandable.” Hange nodded as she reached for the shifter. “Alrighty, it’s show time.”

*******

Tightness. There was tightness, was something that made it difficult for Annie to breathe. Gasping as she opened her eyes, Annie stared at several unfamiliar faces around her as she attempted to figure out why her arms didn’t work, why she couldn’t move her legs or lash out at these people, why she was in a large, brightly lit room instead of the small, beige-painted room in her father’s house. Why- “Fuck.”

“Yeah, that’s a good summary of your situation, all right.” The blood witch, her eyes glowing a fiery red, smirked at Annie as she squatted a couple of feet away – Annie appeared to be tied to a chair with some sort of blanket draped over her. Something cold and slightly sticky was wrapped around her forearms, her calves and thighs, and even her chest. What was even worse was that when she attempted to shift in order to first slip past the bonds and then to break from them… nothing happened. Nor did anything when she attempted to use her magic to summon a spell.

“What?”

The blood witch laughed as she rocked back on her heels. “Realizing that we locked up your magic?” Her expression sharpened to something almost feral. “Should be familiar to you, yes? Sure you did it to poor Moblit and all your other victims.”

Shit, they must have her in some sort of circle, or used a spell or potion on her. Annie fought against her restraints but they didn’t budge at all, didn’t do anything but dig into her flesh. Someone, the alchemist, stepped closer but not enough to quite touch her. “You’re not going to break them so stop before you hurt yourself,” he urged in a quiet voice.

“Yes, they’re not going to give unless I order them to, and that’s *not* going to happen,” someone else – the Jorōgumo – said.

Annie panted as she forced herself to take in her surroundings, to realize that she must be inside the lodge. The alchemist, the Jorōgumo and the blood witch were closest to her, with the mage – wind mage, considering how she had fought – standing off to the side with a phone in her hand. And near the fireplace were…. “What are you letting them do to you?” Her voice came out in a painful rasp as she stared at Eren, at the way he allowed the necromancer to touch him like that, to be handled like a docile doll. Ackerman glared at her as if he could… well, yeah, kill her with a thought, but Eren merely blinked those big eyes of his, the color bleeding into gold. “You’re one of *us*. They’re using you, they’re- aggh!” Pain tore through her, cramped her guts and made her heart race, her breathing catch and nerves burn.

The blood witch was grinning once more as she waved her right forefinger about. “Ah, ah, don’t even think of grouping my little lamb-chop over there with you assholes-”

“For fuck’s sake, Hange!”

“-because he’s not the type to go around murdering nice people because they don’t know better than to keep their hands off of what’s not theirs.”

“He’s… he’s not yours, either,” Annie managed to grit out.

“He’s not *anybody’s,” the Jorōgumo insisted as she did something to cause the bonds to tighten around Annie; ah, that explained what had her tied to the chair.

She coughed in pain while the blood witch hummed a little. “A good point, Mikasa.” She nodded to the other woman before returning her attention back to Annie. “Yes, Eren belongs to himself, and he doesn’t like you very much.”

“At all,” the Jorōgumo muttered.

Annie gave the two of them a flat look. “He doesn’t have to like me, he’ll realize later on that-“ She bit into her bottom lip as the pain tore through her once again, even more potent this time.

The blood witch sighed as she pushed up her glasses. “So you’re one of those, eh? ‘It’s for the best’? Or ‘we’re doing it for him’?” She stood up and dusted off her hand. “Like the normals who drove our kind into hiding by killing and torturing us, by claiming we were possessed by demons and evil spirits? That we needed to be killed to protect humanity?” Her eyes narrowed as she increased the pain. “It always made me so *mad*, reading about those narrow-minded bastards. About how many of us….”

The rest of her rant was lost to the agony as Annie’s world narrowed down to fighting against the pain, to doing her best to not pass out, and when it finally ended, her mouth was full of blood and the alchemist was pulling back the blood witch while the wind mage was bent in front of her. “She’s okay, I think.”

“We need her alive long enough for answers, you shitty glasses,” Ackerman called out.

“Yeah, yeah.” The blood witch didn’t look too upset at the moment, and if Annie wasn’t conserving her energy for any chance to escape she’d spit the blood at the bitch instead of swallowing it. Besides, the witch would just use it as a weapon with her luck. “Heat of the moment and all that.”

“Then bow out if you can’t control yourself,” the alchemist snapped, his eyes flaring a luminous pale blue for a moment.

“Whoa, it’s fine,” the blood witch told him as she held up her hands. “I’ll be good, I promise.”

“Such… a sweetheart,” Annie drawled as she struggled to control her breathing.

The Jorōgumo gave her wrapped leg a light kick. “You don’t have much room to talk.”

Still near the huge, stone-covered fireplace, Ackerman clicked his tongue while Eren continued to remain silent, his eyes a brilliant, glowing gold; what had they done to him to render him so silent? “This pissing contest isn’t getting us anywhere – ask her about her buddies and what they’re doing.”

Annie managed a weak grin as she met the necromancer’s almost bored expression. “Worried about your sister?”

Ackerman’s eyes flared a burning silver while Eren cocked his head to look up at him. “No more than you should be worried for yourself.” Annie felt a numb sensation in her feet, and looked down to see her toes turning black. Fear made her throat grow tight and her lungs seize when she realized that he was causing them to rot, much like Hitch had attempted to do to Smith a couple of days ago. Despite her efforts to control her emotions, to keep her face blank, something must have shown because he gave a slight chuckle and the rot stopped while her healing factor kicked in. “Consider that a sample of what’s to come – so start talking now.”

She struggled not to hyperventilate as her toes slowly returned to normal. “Go… go to hell.”

“Aw, come on, show some imagination!” The blood witch tapped her fingers against the rim of her glasses. “Look what you’re up against here! Levi can rot your organs with a thought, and me? Well, just think of all the fun I can have without causing any permanent damage.” She gave Annie a grin without any humor in it at all. “So many fun things that affect the nerves alone, you know. And the brain.” She moaned in an obscene manner as her hands waved about. “I can have you so *fucked up* in minutes, how about a dose of schizophrenia? A bad case of bipolar? A few phobias that’ll make you feel like having a heart attack?” She once more squatted in front of Annie and tapped her forefinger against her temple. “All chemical reactions, ya know. And right now? I’m in your *blood*, sweetie. I *own* you.” She bared her teeth in a truly awful parody of a smile as she did something that twisted Annie’s perceptions, that made the world spin about in a kaleidoscope of colors and screwed with Annie’s sense of smell, until everything *reeked*. Just when Annie began to gag, everything returned to normal. “So yeah, tell us why you’re killing everyone you can to get at Eren, what you want with him, and where your buddies are before we *really* get nasty on your ass.”

Was this how they broke Eren? Had they twisted everything up inside of his head until he didn’t know what was right, until he had no resistance left and finally imprinted on one of them, on Ackerman? Annie choked on a sob as she shook her head. “It won’t work – we’ll keep coming for him. You don’t-“ She shook her head again. “Fight them,” she ordered as she stared through her sweat-soaked bangs at Eren. “They’re *using* you!”

He was still as he stared back for a few heartbeats, and then he pushed at the arms wrapped around him, at Ackerman holding him back. “No. *No!*.”

“Brat, don’t let her fuck with your head!” Ackerman caught at his sweater, but Eren twisted free and stalked forward, his eyes like golden suns that shone through the thick, dark hair falling onto his face.

“Eren-“

He ignored the Jorōgumo as well, and the alchemist stepped out of the way, as did the blood witch. Eren’s hands shifted into claws as he came to a halt in front of Annie, his wiry body trembling and magic pouring forth in punishing waves. “No one is using me! You don’t know me at all!” Something from behind Annie lurched toward them as he lunged at her, as the claws bit into her covered shoulders, but along with pain there was a wave of powerful emotions, of confusing images.

It took her a moment to realize that some of the faces she saw were younger versions of the ones around her, that the Jorōgumo and the alchemist were mere children, smiling at her or crying. There were even flashes of Grisha, both stern and tender, and of some woman with gentle brown eyes and a loving smile. Along with the images were a sense of love, of trust – of heartache when they focused on Grisha and the woman, and then the images focused on Ackerman and the emotions became more turbulent, more passionate yet still trusting as the necromancer fought beside Annie- no, *Eren*, they were his memories, his emotions, and Annie wanted them gone, wanted the glimpses of a life where someone could *feel* so strongly, so intensely, where they could be so certain of-

She gasped as the images and emotions came to an abrupt end. As reality pushed back into her dazed senses, she found Ackerman dragging Eren away from her, appearing pissed off as he scowled at the other shifter. “What the fuck did you do?”

“Uhm… I don’t know?” Eren stumbled as he was pulled along. “I just… I just wanted to make her understand!” He swayed about when Ackerman stood still. “I was angry and… *whoosh*.” He flapped his right hand around his head.

“I am buying you a fucking dictionary and smacking you with it until you learn the damn thing!” Ackerman grasped Eren’s head between his hands, but Annie could now see that his touch was gentle, that the sharpness in his voice was concern. She didn’t want to see it. It didn’t make any sense, dammit. Nothing made sense anymore.

“You… you’re not supposed to be like this,” she told him. “None of you are.” She felt the beginning of hysterics and couldn’t fight it anymore, not with the pain and the awful revelation.

“What, so mean?” the blood witch asked.

Annie ignored her as she stared at the way Ackerman continued to fuss over Eren. “You’re supposed to be using him, we… we were told you were using him,” she insisted, her voice sharp as she attempted to fight against what Eren had shown her, at the years of lies he’d ripped through with those visions, those emotions.

The blood witch frowned and opened her mouth, but the alchemist nudged her aside. “Eren, you didn’t happen to do something with your empathy, did you?”

A few feet away, Eren continued to submit himself meekly to Ackerman’s rough petting and prodding. “Ah, maybe?” He waited until Ackerman clicked his tongue and pulled Eren to against him to nod his head. “That might have been it.”

“’Maybe’?” Ackerman did something with his fingers to Eren’s left ear. “You little shit, three hours of magical training a day from now on, you hear? No more of this ‘maybe’ crap!”

“Levi!”

“No whining!”

The alchemist sighed as he rubbed at his forehead, then offered Annie a tentative smile. “Okay, so Eren did something with his empathy to get his point across, right? He’s been coming across a lot of new talents lately, so I guess that’s another one.” He reached out, his motions slow, and touched her on her knees. “We’re not using him, he’s family. But someone told you that we are.”

She nodded, one of the only motions she could do. “Yes, you’re using him because he’s a shifter, because-“ She bit her lip, uncertain what she could say even with what Eren had shown her.

“Because he’s a key.” The alchemist gave her another small, uncertain smile. “We know that much, his father told him, though we’re still figuring out a lot about it.” He paused and glanced behind him, to the people watching them closely. “He’s bound to Levi, you know.”

“Armin, what the fuck!” Ackerman shouted while the blood witch groaned and the wind mage gasped. Eren and the Jorōgumo just stared in various degrees of shock at the alchemist.

Annie gasped as well, then sifted through the images Eren had shared with her, some of them now making sense. “You… it’s not imprinting, is it?”

“Eh, what’s imprinting?” The blood witch frowned, appearing more curious now than deranged.

“It’s… if a shifter is pushed too far, if they’re… well, broken.” Annie closed her eyes and thought about Edgar, one of the shifter rescued too late. “You can force them to emphatically bond with you, but it’s shallow, it’s more an effort to please to lessen the abuse than anything. A defense mechanism.”

“Ah, yeah, it’s why at first we assumed Reiss and the others wanted Eren – well, any shifter. That ‘imprinting’ is part of what makes them valuable, that and the shape-shifting,” the blood witch agreed. “A docile, eager to please slave.”

The wind mage took a step forward as she lowered the phone she’d been holding up in her hands. “So what, you thought that Eren had imprinted on us? Or that we’d forced the imprint on him?”

“As if,” Ackerman added with a click of his tongue.

Annie wished that her hands were freed, that she could rub at her aching head. “We… we were told… if a shifter’s been out here too long….” She let out a slow breath. “There’s always been a danger of it. We were told that because of Eren’s… well, because of Eren, that people were hunting him to use him.”

Things were quiet for a moment, and then the alchemist waved at the blood witch. “Hange, back off a minute, okay?”

“Wait – you want me to go easy on her? What if this is a trick?” The blood witch glared at him, her eyes shining bright and her magic flaring.

“Eren, is she?” the alchemist asked as he stared back at her, seeming unaffected by the blood witch’s ire.

“Eh?” Eren blinked a couple of times and shook his head. “I don’t… I’m not picking up anything like that from her, though it’s difficult to tell with all the hostility right now.”

Ackerman hauled him back a step. “Don’t even think of going near her again, brat.”

Still, the alchemist nodded before he turned back to Annie. “You were told that people were eager to use Eren, which is true. Yet he has his friends and family, has people who will protect him. Didn’t that ever occur to you?”

She shook her head again. “He’s… you’re always trying to use us, to get to us.” Why was everything so confusing? Yet… some things were also starting to make sense. “I’ve… I’ve seen shifters who’ve been brought back.”

The Jorōgumo sighed as she went to stand beside Eren and Ackerman. “I’m wondering if she’s been ‘imprinted’, too.”

The alchemist nodded. “Yes, there might be some brainwashing going on here, or some rather strong geas – which would have been broken with the potion.” He continued to stare at Annie as she attempted to make sense of what they’d just said – geas? Brainwashing? “So you’ve basically been raised somewhere away from everything,” when she started to panic he patted her knee, “it’s just supposition since obviously there’s more shifters out there that we don’t know about and you don’t seem to have a clue about what’s going on in the world, hence that you’re isolated somewhere. And someone’s telling you that any shifters ‘out there’ are immediately abused and used.”

“Ah, well, they have been hunting me down – ow! Really?” Eren glared at Ackerman and huffed as he then looked aside, but didn’t attempt to leave the man’s side.

“Let Armin do the talking, brat.”

A slight smile lingered on the alchemist’s – Armin, apparently – face as he continued. “Yes, thank you, Eren. Some magical organizations and people will want to use shifters, I will admit that. But others?” His hand left her knee to touch his chest. “Me and Mikasa? Eren is our family and we’ve been protecting him as long as we’ve known him. Levi, Hange and Petra? They haven’t hesitated to keep him safe, and neither have the rest of their friends.” His smile faded as he gave her a cool look. “Friends you killed.”

“*Good* friends, which you chopped up for fucking spells,” the blood witch muttered from somewhere out of Annie’s sight as pain spiked in her chest for a second or two.

“That’s enough, Hange,” Armin chided.

“Is it?” The blood witch stomped forward with her eyes blazing and her chin jutted out. “This bitch cut through Moblit as if he was a damn-“

Armin jumped up into her path, his eyes just as bright and his face set with determination. “Yes, I know what she did, and now it’s looking like she might just be someone’s means to an end to get Eren.” He dared to shove a hand at the blood witch’s chest. “So save your anger and revenge for the asshole who primed her as a weapon, all right!”

There was a terrible sense of magic for several seconds as the blood witch held up her hands near Armin’s face, as he slipped his hand into the leather bag near his right hip, and Annie noticed that the Jorōgumo came over to stand at his back while Eren attempted to move from Ackerman’s side yet was kept in place as the necromancer shook his head. She held her breath and cursed her inability to do anything, to shift and flee while provided with this distraction, and then the blood witch made a sound of frustration while she threw her hands up in the hair.

“Gah! I want to make her heart explode! To give her mad cow disease or something! She killed Moblit! She killed Mike and Nanaba and Dita!”

Armin’s shoulders slumped and he shook his head. “I know, but we still need answers, and it looks like Levi and Erwin were right about someone else being behind this. It’s not going to do any good to take it out on....” He turned around to come back over to Annie. “Hey, what’s your name?” He asked the question in a tender, seemingly genuine manner.

Her breath hitched at the question. Who was this guy? Why did he seem to care about her? Why wasn’t he hurting her like the blood witch, why was he standing up for her? “Uhm, Annie.” And why was she answering him? It wasn’t like it mattered, telling him her name, though.

“Annie, that’s a nice name.” He smiled at her.

“Oh, I’m going to be sick,” the blood witch muttered. “How do we know this isn’t some sort of trick?”

“Because of one of the potions I gave her,” Armin said as he continued to smile at Annie. “I’m not an idiot.”

Still holding a phone as if she was recording things, the wind mage spoke up. “But didn’t you say they don’t always work on Eren?”

Armin sighed as he glanced over his shoulder. “Eren? What are you picking up from her?”

Eren, his eyes having changed to a clear blueish green color, frowned as he tucked back the hair which had fallen onto his face. “You know I can only pick up strong things from people unless I’m… well, yeah.” A faint blush spread across his dusky skin while behind him, Ackerman rolled his eyes.

“Yes, but your talents have been changing lately.” Armin waited a couple of seconds and sighed. “Can you come over here and confirm for everyone that she’s not lying to us?”

Both the Jorōgumo and Ackerman complained in an instant.

“Armin!”

“Not a good idea.”

Meanwhile, Eren huffed again and tugged at Ackerman’s arm around his waist. “Let’s just get this over with, okay?” He smacked it when it wouldn’t budge, which prompted at clicking sound from the necromancer, who trailed after him as he approached Annie. His eyes once more like molten gold as he stopped just within arm’s reach, he gave her an appraising look for several disturbing seconds before he spoke again. “You try to hurt my friends again, I’ll kill you.” That was all he said, but as he spoke, his face shifted, always in flux as fangs grew and his jaw protruded, scales coming and going as well. There was nothing human to him as he made what she knew was a promise, an oath.

“Yeah, I get it.” The words came out in a rasp as she stared at him, at the frightening power that poured out; no wonder Jaeger wanted his nephew so much, was so terrified of outsiders having this power in their hands. Then she looked at Ackerman, who had his left arm casually draped around Eren’s upper chest during it all, who appeared unaffected both by his power and shifting.

The necromancer clicked his tongue again. “I let you kiss me with that mouth?”

Something in what he said made Eren’s power fluctuate and then sputter out, made Eren blush and duck his head. “Levi! Don’t… not in front… so mean,” he muttered.

“Yeah, yeah, just do this shit.” Ackerman followed up the command with a flicking motion to Eren’s right ear.

Eren made a whining sound as he reached out to touch Annie’s forehead. She almost flinched away from his fingers before she forced herself to remain still, uncertain about what all he intended to do, and held her breath as his warm fingertips brushed against her skin. They stayed there for a couple of frantic heartbeats before he pulled them away. “Okay, I get a lot of fear, confusion, a bit of jealousy and a sense of betrayal. If she’s planning something, she’s a damn good actress… but again, those are just the strongest emotions.” He gave her an odd frown right before Ackerman dragged him back by the fireplace.

The blood witch made another frustrated sound. “You’re not going to let me give her an advanced case of leprosy, are you?”

Ackerman made a growling sound. “First off, what did I say about leaving a mess? And second, no, not while Armin’s theory holds true, and not until I get some information that’ll help with Isabel and Farlan.”

Armin wasn’t smiling as he resumed his position in front of Annie, with the Jorōgumo standing behind him. “Look, Annie, you’ve a chance here, but it won’t last for long. Eren seems to have convinced you that he’s not being used, at least by us. We both seem to want the same thing, or at least close to the same thing – and that’s to keep him safe. What we’re not going to do is to let you take him back to someone who appears to have used you and didn’t care what damage he caused to get his hands on Eren.”

“Damn right!” the blood witch called out, while the Jorōgumo glared at Annie and nodded.

“Yes,” Armin nodded as well. “So, tell us exactly what your orders were, and what your two associates are doing. Tell us now, and we’ll take into account the geas and everything. But tell us *now*.” He stared at her, his eyes glowing with magic, a magic that felt potent, and Annie considered her options. She considered everything she’d been told over the years, everything she’d been forced to do… and those images Eren had shown her. The conviction of the people around her, the way he’d looked at her when he’d given her that promise.

And she had to make a decision fast, because any time now, there would be a call from what was left of Ackerman’s family.

*******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope there aren't that many mistakes in here - this chapter was down to the wire because of its length and how busy the week was, so, yeah, some parts didn't get reviewed as many times as others.
> 
> And I really didn't mean to have such a cliffhanger! But considering the length and all, figured it was best to not to try to put another scene or two in there. In other words, you find out what happens to poor Isabel, Farlan and the others next week (hoping that things aren't late because of the holiday madness).


	13. It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope those of you who celebrated the holidays have enjoyed yourself! 
> 
> Fair warning, this chapter is INSANE. For some reason, I figured that thirteen chapters would be a good number for this fic, and I really wanted to wrap it up before the end of the year (honestly, there was like ONE scene which made me think of this fic, and I may come back and amend this last chapter to add it on in a couple of days). So I figured that I would do my best to make this the last chapter of this part of the story.
> 
> Uhm, yeah, so you have a HUGE chapter right now. It probably could be two chapters, really.
> 
> Once again, thank you so much for all the feedback, the kudos and the comments left on this fic. They've made me so happy and encouraged me to get this written.
> 
> Edit - and got the epilogue up now! It's a little something that basically kicked off the whole story, a scene I had in my head of Levi and Eren (Levi at first, acting as bait) fighting mages who were hunting them down, mostly to get at Eren. So yeah, thought it was a little fitting to throw it in there at the end. Consider it a sneak peek of what life is like for Eren and Levi while on the run. Enjoy  
>  Once again, thank you so much for the kudos and comments! Hope to be back soon with more to this story.

*******

Armin stared hard at Annie as if he could will her to cooperate, to give up the information they needed; the more things dragged on, the more convinced he was that she’d been all but brainwashed to believe that Eren was someone abused, someone being used and mistreated and that she was doing something good by dragging him back to wherever she lived. Granted, it didn’t excuse the deaths she’d committed, but he didn’t feel like he was dealing with an evil person, just someone messed up and confused. Whoever had sent her out after Eren? Yeah, that was a different story.

He could sense Hange behind him and knew that the blood witch was getting antsy, and hoped that Annie made a decision soon. The large living area was quiet save for the crackling of fire and the rustle of clothes as people shifted about, and then there was the loud beeping of a phone. Annie flinched, her blue eyes going wide, as Petra gasped and Levi muttered a curse.

“Don’t move,” he said, probably to Eren, which was followed by a low complaint from Armin’s friend; Armin didn’t take his attention off of Annie, especially since it appeared that she was afraid of something and doing her best not to show it. “Erwin picked up Shadis and is bring him here,” Levi announced. “The others should be on their way later.”

“Great, more reinforcements in case our new friend here has some buddies who try to sneak in to join the fun.” There was more than a little bit of snark in Hange’s voice just then.

Armin reached out to touch Annie’s blanket-covered knee and noticed how she flinched. “That text rattled you, why?” He watched as she shook her head, her blonde hair matted with sweat and her pretty face pinched from pain and exhaustion. “Annie, I’m serious. Tell us what you know or Hange will break you. Or we go about other ways to get the information from you.” Behind him, Levi clicked his tongue.

Hange laughed as she came to stand beside Armin. “We’re only going to be nice for so long.”

Annie glared up at Hange for a couple of seconds before her blue eyes flickered over to Eren and then settled on Armin. “He’s your friend, right? You never used him… you’ll never use him?” Her voice came out in a hoarse rasp and her eyes shone with an intent emotion as she seemed to ignore everything but Armin.

Armin nodded. “Eren is like a brother to me, I’ll protect him with my life.” A slight smile tugged at his lips as he once more touched her knee. “He is handy to have around on cold nights or when bullies throw your backpack into a pond, but I wouldn’t say I use him.”

“What about how many times you’ve had me change shapes so you can get some precious ingredient- ow!”

“What did I say about letting Armin do the talking?”

Armin continued to smile despite Eren’s interruption, and Annie stared at him for several seconds before she nodded. “Bert and Reiner – they were sent out with me – they should be attacking Ackerman’s family right about now.”

Things were quiet right after the announcement, and then Armin felt a powerful, almost painful pulse of Levi’s magic, so cold and overwhelming, as the necromancer stormed toward him and Annie. “What the hell!?” Levi’s eyes were a pure and shining silver as he pushed Armin aside and grabbed at Annie’s shoulders, and Eren was right behind him. “What are they doing to Isabel? To Farlan?”

Annie closed her eyes and shook her head, her mouth moving for a couple seconds and no sound coming out.

“What, damn you?!” Levi lifted her and the chair up and gave her a shake, while Armin grabbed at Eren’s right arm.

“Do something,” he hissed at his friend. Eren merely cocked his head at Armin, his eyes now gold, so Armin tried again. “She can’t help if she’s dead!”

Eren frowned as he reached out to touch Levi’s back. “Don’t,” he warned, his voice low and quiet, an odd counterpoint to the wild and raging rush of his magic; Levi shuddered at the touch and dropped Annie as if the contact with the shifter burned him.

“Tell me what you fucking know before I rot you from the inside out,” he snarled at the girl. “*Now*!” As he spat out the threat, he turned to Hange. “And you! Call Erwin to let him know!”

Hange held up her phone, the screen glowing and showing Erwin’s face. “Already on it!” There was the sound of ringing and then Erwin’s voice. “Heya, boss man. Shit’s going down.” She hurried to explain what was happening while Levi resumed glaring at Annie.

“Talk, dammit.”

Annie gulped air as if she had difficulty breathing. “I don’t… I don’t know exactly what they’re doing, just that… we’ve orders about you.” She shook her head. “You… you’re to be killed. He….” She winced as if something caused her pain. “Eren… Eren has an uncle, his uncle is… he’s in charge, back home.” She stared back at Armin with something akin to desperation. “He’s powerful, so powerful. He told us to come out here, to get Eren, to bring him back. Somehow he knew about Eren.”

Levi clicked his tongue as he reached out to rub the back of a stunned Eren’s neck. “Yeah, okay, so this asshole is pulling the strings, and that’s why you’re going after Isabel and Farlan. What the hell are those two assholes doing right now?”

She shook her head. “Just… something to make you leave Eren, to make as many of you as possible leave. I don’t know, I was to sneak in and make sure Eren was here, to watch over things and let them know if you took the bait. They’re to leave someone alive to make a call for help.”

Armin winced at the murderous aura that emanated from Levi while Hange relayed the info to Erwin and tried to think through what Annie had just said. “Levi… it would make sense that they’d leave Isabel or Farlan alive if they wanted you to run to their rescue. You’re the main target, and the one they want to separate from Eren.”

Eren rubbed at his eyes as his magic flared. “This is all because of me, because-“ He gasped when Levi hauled him in close.

“Shut up,” the necromancer snapped, then sighed when Eren tensed against him. “It’s not your fault, it’s that bastard’s who sent these fucking kids out to get you, you hear me?” He slid his hands through Eren’s hair and forced Armin’s friend to look up at him. “It’s not your fucking fault!”

Eren sniffed while he nodded as much as he could with Levi holding onto his hair like that, then sighed when Levi clicked his tongue and enveloped Eren in an embrace; Mikasa joined in by rubbing Eren’s back. Meanwhile Hange nodded along to whatever Erwin was telling her before hanging up.

“Erwin said that he hasn’t gotten any messages from Erd or Gunther, but he’s going to call them now.” She hurried over to stand near Armin and scowled at Annie. “So what, your leader figured out about Eren and Levi?”

Annie stared at the couple for several seconds before she shook her head. “I don’t… I don’t know, Reiner talked to him one day and then told us we were to kill Ackerman.” She bit into her bottom lip as she snuck another lingering glance at the couple. “It was after we fought with you, when Eren defended you, so maybe Jaeger realized then that they were together.” Her chin dropped to her chest. “He must have figured out that Eren….”

“That Eren wasn’t being used and hadn’t been imprinted, and yet still ordered you to kill people, to kill Eren’s *lover* and family,” Armin finished for her. “He ordered you to tear Eren’s life apart so he could get his hands on the most powerful source of magic around – and he didn’t care what it did to you or anyone else in the process.”

A single tear slid down Annie’s face while Armin spoke. “Yeah… I just figured that out.”

There was another moment of silence before Hange’s phone rang again, which caused Armin to flinch since the tension in the room was intense and there was an answering flare of several different types of magic. Levi cursed beneath his breath as he let go of Eren and snatched the phone away from his friend. “What the hell is going on?”

*******

Isabel sighed as she opened the fridge and looked through their meager supplies. “So, I’m thinking soup and sandwiches for lunch. Any objection?” When nobody answered, she closed the door and peeked around the corner of the doorway into the small living room. “Eh?”

Farlan, Gunther and Erd were standing a couple of feet away from the windows with near identical frowns on their faces. “The bird’s been gone for half an hour now,” Farlan explained as he stepped away to come join her. “I don’t think that’s a good sign.”

“No, it usually only leaves for a few minutes at a time.” Erd shared a look with his partner and then went over to a backpack he’d brought along and began to search through it.

Isabel joined in on the whole frowning thing as she folded her arms over her chest. “So what, you think it’s up to something? I thought you said it wouldn’t do anything for a couple of days.”

“We said it might not do anything for a couple of days,” Gunther argued as he continued to stare out the window. “But who knows with these bastards?”

How reassuring. “So what do we do now?”

Erd stood up with a small case in his hands. “We wait to see if something happens – here, everybody take one of these.” He handed out a small vial filled with a reddish liquid, one each to her and Farlan.

“Eh, what is this?” She hadn’t dealt with potions much, since they tended to be very expensive. “I thought you said that magic didn’t work much on them.”

“Yes, so what good is a potion?” Farlan twisted the thin vial about between his fingers. “Wait, is this the one that Erwin mentioned?”

“Careful with that!” Erd winced as he held his own vial with a bit more care. “You’re right, this is the one Erwin was talking about that Eren’s friend who’s an alchemist came up with that’ll eat through that damn ward of theirs. Thing is, they hadn’t made much before we left so all we have are these four vials.”

“Ooh.” Isabel held hers up to the light and grinned. “So what, we throw this on them?”

Erd nodded. “From what Hange told me, yeah, just hit them with it when that crystal stuff is covering them, and it’ll hurt a lot.”

Farlan frowned at the vial in his hands. “Which means we need to be somewhat close.”

“Except for you,” she said as she handed her vial to her husband. “You don’t need to be as close to get this on them.”

Erd opened his mouth as if to say something, but Isabel silenced him with a look. “Farlan will watch over me,” she insisted.

“Yes, they won’t be able to touch her without hurting themselves.” He uncapped one of the vials and had the potion float out of the glass tube, only to have the liquid fan out in a fine mist a moment later and then settle around Isabel; she didn’t feel anything, not a single drop of moisture, but she knew it was around her, was an invisible shield. Once she was done, he did the same with the second vial to himself.

“Huh, that’s a smart idea.” Erd looked at his own vial and shook his head. “Not sure I want to attempt that with something so important, but it’s given me an idea.” He uncorked his own vial but left it at that.

Over by the window, Gunther grunted as he tucked the vial into the front pocket of his jeans. “Great, I’m stuck with just making sure the thing doesn’t break until I want it to.”

Erd made a rude gesture at his friend. “Consider it payback for all those times when you tried to fake us out with ‘earthquakes’ while we were sleeping.”

“I still remember that one time I got Olou real good and-“ Gunther’s smile turned into an expression of panic and he lunged from the window and shoved Isabel and Farlan aside. “Duck!”

As he yelled, something came crashing through the window, a flash of green and brown; Isabel screamed even as she threw up an air ward, as something heavy and big hit it. Farlan was cursing while he covered her with his own body while he urged her to move forward, so she used a gust of wind to batter the front door to the cabin open.

There was another crash, what turned out to be a large tree knocked down onto the cabin, and Isabel stared in shock at what looked to be a cross between a shiny elephant and a shag rug send another cedar tree tumbling into the building. “What the….”

“Fucking woolly mammoth,” Farlan muttered. “It’s a fucking woolly mammoth.” He jerked her about, just as something swooped down from the air.

Regaining her wits, Isabel sent a dual blast of heat and wind at the thing – a gryphon, a damn gryphon, she thought to herself as the sudden powerful updraft caused it to let out a powerful shriek and careen wildly through the air. “Ha! Can’t fly right when there’s turbulence, can you?” She set about mucking up all of the air around her in order to clip the bastard’s wings.

“Yeah, well worry about the other one!” Farlan yanked her out of the way while the mammoth came charging at them, changing with every step until it was about half the size instead, its woolly hide now plated instead and covered with spikes all over it.

Gunther swore as he called up a shield of earth in an attempt to stave off the monstrosity, and did his best to dive out of the way as it charged through the wall of stone and dirt as if it was nothing. Isabel thought she saw something sparkle through the air, but it sailed past the shifter – right about when the gryphon attempted to swing back at them.

It was flying lower now, as if figuring out that it wouldn’t be able to soar too high because of what Isabel did. She blasted at it again and sent it tumbling away, where it rolled around on the ground, while the spiky beast thing barreled once more at Gunther and Erd. Gunther now attempted to slow it down with various tendrils, but it tore through them as easily as it had through the earth wall.

“This whole magic ward thing is annoying!” Isabel sent a volley of fire at the gryphon as it stalked toward her on the ground, its eyes a glowing a deep bronze. Beside her, Farlan was curled inward as if hurt. He managed a wince as they heard a cry of pain from near the ruined cabin yet they didn’t dare to take their eyes off of the approaching shifter to see how their companions fared.

“Just… a little closer,” he panted.

“I wish you’d be more use in a fight,” she gritted out as if annoyed and let her flames sputter out. The gryphon roared as it leapt forward, just as a reddish mist rose from her and Farlan to greet it when it was about six feet away.

Farlan wrapped his arms around her and knocked them both to the ground while there was another painful shriek a few feet away from them. Isabel rose up in a careful crouch to see the gryphon rolling around on the ground, steam rising from its bronze and golden body as it shuddered, the crystalline shield fading away with each breath. Meanwhile, across the clearing the spiky… thing paused in goring Gunther and lifted its head, multiple horns coated in red blood, to stare at them with glowing green eyes. It left the earth mage to charge in their direction, just as a bloodied Erd managed to rise up from where he’d been laying on the ground and gestured with his left hand at the shifter; something shimmery flew through the air toward the shifter.

At first it didn’t seem to have any effect, then the damn thing’s hind legs gave out beneath it and it let out a defining roar. Its shape appeared in flux as steam rose up around it as well, and Farlan grinned as he lobbed a spell at the writhing gryphon, something that made it shriek and spit out blood. “Oh yeah, I’d say that their wards are useless now.”

“Great! Let’s see how well they take to being burned!” Isabel smiled as she summoned her flame, and had just turned toward the gasping gryphon when she heard something be shouted out – had someone called her a bitch? She lobbed a flame over at the other creature as well, only now it was something vaguely human, was a giant freak at least fifteen feet tall with amour plating that deflected most of her flames.

“Hitch!” It growled out the word as it stomped on the ground hard enough to cause tremors.

“Okay, maybe they do all right without the wards,” Farlan muttered as he cast another spell, one that barely made the damn thing cough.

“We just need enough heat,” Isabel insisted. She began to burn the air around the things when she felt it, the faint pulse of necromancy, and Farlan cursed as they scrambled to build a ward in time; if there was one thing Levi had taught them, had beaten into their heads over the years they’d lived with him, it was how to defend themselves from a sneak attack.

Standing at the edge of the forest was a young woman with a haggard face and filthy pale hair, her eyes burning a greyish color as she gestured at them with her right arm. “Let’s see *you* rot!”

She was powerful, but nowhere near Levi’s league; the impromptu shield held… but Isabel heard Erd let out an anguished cry. “Shit!” She looked up at Farlan, who nodded at her, and knew her husband would manage the ward without her as she readied a spell to take out the sneaky bitch.

Farlan grunted at the full impact of the necromantic spell, and Isabel spared a fireball behind them at the shifters before she let loose a spell that Farlan had helped her to perfect, one that would instantly remove all of the air around the woman within a five feet space. Since it didn’t attack the person itself – maybe it would have worked on a shifter, maybe not, but there was no way that necromancer would survive the lack of oxygen, blood boiling and skin exploding that was about to happen.

Isabel unleashed the spell and waited only for the mental ‘click’ that told her it hadn’t been knocked aside by a ward before she spun around to fire off another potent fireball at the shifters, the same time that Farlan hit them with another spell to burst their internal organs. Behind her was a high-pitched, cut off scream as the spell took out the necromancer, and another yell from the one of the shifters when the troublesome twit died. Isabel almost felt sorry for them – until she remembered that they were trying to kill her, that they were after her brother.

The gryphon hunched over as if in pain while the giant freak shook its head, then it grabbed the gryphon as if it weighed nothing, picked it up and went running – running away from Isabel and Farlan. She sent a few fireballs after them just in case then slumped against her husband. “What the fuck….”

“Yeah, exactly.” He gave her a fierce hug for a few seconds and then shuddered as he pulled away. “Come on, let’s check out the others.”

“I mean, what are they?” She was probably babbling, but what could change like that, could become such incredible creatures with a thought? “Brother’s dating one of them?”

“They said Eren’s nice. Everyone’s got some crazies in the family, Izzy,” Farlan reminded her.

True, there was Uncle Kenny, and- “Oh, oh no.” Isabel fought back the tears when they came across Gunther’s broken body, his abdomen all torn up and his face covered with blood. “*Dammit!”

Farlan held his hand above the earth mage for a moment then shook his head. “Too late.” Then he went over to where there was another still shape. “Erd?”

There was a faint moan, which caused them to break out in a run. “Hold on,” Isabel urged the man, and then nearly choked when she saw what the necromancer had done to him; most of his upper body was covered with black rot, some of his skin and muscle already eaten away and the bone exposed. “We can… we can do something,” she sobbed.

Farlan muttered beneath his breath as his magic flared, as he struggled to hold back the rot by blocking things with his magic. “Dammit, I could use some earth magic right now.”

Erd’s eyelids fluttered. “Nah… nah use.” His breath shuddered and his right hand, mostly untouched by the necromantic spell, twitched. “Know… know from Levi. Jus’… just end it.”

Isabel sucked in a breath as she looked at her husband, who clenched his jaw and remained silent for several seconds before he nodded. He closed his eyes as he held his right hand over Erd’s head, and there was a gurgling sound a moment later as the water mage’s body twitched and then went still.

Isabel hugged her husband and closed her eyes as well. “Did you….”

“Brain aneurism – quickest way, no pain,” he told her. “The rot’s just going to keep spreading even if that mage’s dead – they’re both dead.”

Yeah, once a necromantic spell took effect, it didn’t let up until the caster removed it or the flesh was gone. Isabel didn’t look down at Erd’s remains as she lurched to her feet, Farlan’s hand steady on her elbow. “What are we going to do now?”

He stared at the remains of the cabin. “We need to crawl in there and get the keys to the truck at least, and whatever else we can find.”

She sighed as she patted his hand. “Let me – I’m smaller.” When he made to object, she shook her head. “No, I’m smaller, and I can use air to push up the trees. You stay here and keep watch.”

There was a stubborn set to his jaw that let her know he wasn’t happy with the plan, but her logic was sound. Farlan went with her to the ‘door’ and then turned around to watch the clearing, while she used a blast of air to help clear the way. There was glass on the floor, but again, a blast of air helped to get it out of her way as she crawled beneath a bunch of branches and the crumpled door frame.

After a few seconds, she heard a ringing sound, which helped her to locate where Erd’s backpack had fallen. The impulse was there to answer the phone, but she made sure that it was tucked back in Erd’s backpack and then found Gunther’s pack as well, complete with keys, before she crawled back out; she didn’t bother with the bedroom, with the few things they had brought with them because a couple of mementos meant nothing when powerful as hell shifters could return at any moment. No wonder Levi had sounded so worried for them.

She had just backed out of the cabin when the phone began to ring again, so she dropped Gunther’s bag to the ground and dug through Erd’s so she could answer it while Farlan held it open for her. The phone was locked, but all she had to do was swipe to accept the call. “Hello?”

“Isabel?” It was Erwin’s voice, sounding worried and loud. “Are you all right?”

“Uhm, ye-not really.” She shivered as Farlan hugged her close. “Something happened.” She set the phone to speaker-mode.

“They found us,” Farlan explained.

Erwin cursed on the other end. “Dammit, where’s Erd?”

Farlan shook his head even though Erwin couldn’t see him while Isabel sniffed. “He didn’t make it, neither did Gunther. I’m su-sorry.”

“Fuck.” There sounded to be a loud noise in the background and then Erwin let out a slow breath. “I’m glad you’re all right, let me get Levi on the line.” There was a long beep and silence, and then another beep.

“What the hell is going on?”

A shaky laugh escaped Isabel. “Brother? Brother, are you all right?”

“That’s my damn question – Isabel? Farlan? What’s going on?”

Isabel’s knees felt weak just then and she would have slid to the ground if not for Farlan holding on to her. “We ah, we had company.”

“I’m sorry, Levi, but it seems Gunther and Erd are dead,” Erwin added. “That’s all I know so far.”

“Fuck. *Fuck*.” There was mostly silence on the other line for a moment, with faint voices in the background. “Don’t you fucking say it,” Levi snapped with enough force to make Isabel blink in surprise.

“Ah, say what, Brother?”

“Not you, Izzy. Just this little shit right here.” There was a soft murmur followed by a yelp. “Likes to blame himself for stupid stuff.”

“Indeed, it’s not your fault, Eren,” Erwin added. “If you don’t mind, please tell us what happened.”

Farlan leaned in closer to the phone and frowned, while Isabel attempted to turn up the volume, her hands shaking too much at first until Farlan helped to steady them. He also took over explaining things for her. “We noticed that the hawk had disappeared for a while, so Erd gave us that special potion he’d brought along. It wasn’t long after that when they attacked the house.” He paused to look back at it. “I think they were trying to force us out of it, or make sure we couldn’t stay here.”

Levi made a clicking sound. “We managed to capture the third shifter right before they attacked, and she told us that they basically wanted to freak you out enough to force us to come get you. Wanted to draw some of us away from Eren.”

So much for a ‘couple of days’, Isabel thought as she glanced over at Gunther and Erd’s bodies. “I’ve been trying to call you ever since we found out,” Erwin explained.

“Yeah, well we’ve been a bit busy.” Farlan sighed and held Isabel a little tighter. “The potions worked, when we were close enough to use them, but they still put up a hell of a fight. Then a necromancer showed up.”

“Hitch Dreyse.” Erwin didn’t sound so surprised. “No wonder there were casualties. I’m sorry, I had hoped that they wouldn’t do anything before we managed to either get more people to you or bring you here. We had just figured out how to keep them from sneaking past the wards.”

“We also didn’t figure on them tracking down Eren so quickly, so it’s a clusterfuck all around.” Levi let out a loud sigh and then was quiet for a couple of seconds. “So you fought them all off? You’re okay?”

Despite the upset and the shock of the fight, Isabel smiled at her brother’s concern. “I took out the necromancer.” Just not in time to save Erd.

“That’s my girl,” he told her with evident pride. “What about those bastard shifters?”

“Last we saw of them, they were running away – I don’t think they expected to lose anyone and they definitely didn’t expect the potion,” Farlan explained. “Still, we need to get out of here.”

“I agree. I’ll send you the directions to join Levi – it’s clear the place is already compromised, so we might as well make a stand here. Just be careful while on the road. I take it the potion is all used up?”

Isabel sighed at the thought of going back in the cabin for her phone after all; she couldn’t use Gunther’s or Erd’s since they were locked. “Yeah, they-“

“Wait, I don’t think so. I saw Gunther throw his but it never landed.” Farlan gave her a pat on the arm as he walked away, his eyes intent on the ground and his magic flowing outward as if searching.

“Izzy?”

“Farlan’s looking for the last vial,” she explained to her brother. “I remember that it was Farlan and Erd who managed to land hits on those assholes.” She paused to watch her husband. “So you got attacked, too?”

“Yeah, and we managed to take her down. She’s cooperating now, rather than have Hange scramble her innards.” There was a loud noise in the background, as if someone was laughing.

“Nice.” Isabel nodded in appreciation of her brother’s abilities. “Oh, wait, looks like Farlan found something.” He waved from across the clearing with something in his hand, and hurried back over. “Maybe we still have a potion left.”

He was a little out of breath when he reached her. “It didn’t break when it hit the ground!”

Erwin must have heard that. “Good, then I suggest you grab whatever you need and get on the road as soon as possible, before they regroup.”

Isabel sighed as she glanced behind her. “Give me a couple of minutes to get my phone and we’ll be gone.”

“Watch your ass,” Levi told her. “Don’t stop if you can help it, those assholes can impersonate anyone.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Farlan groaned as he looked around. “Guess we’ll burn this place before we go, too.”

“At least it’s not our own home this time,” she added.

On the other line there was a muffled curse from Levi and what sounded to be someone complaining. “I hate you both so much right now, get here in one piece so I can kick your asses,” Levi snarled before he hung up.

“Eeeh?” Isabel blinked at the phone. “What did we do?”

There was a faint chuckle from Erwin. “Let’s just say Levi’s involved in an even more terrible battle right now.” Then he cleared his throat. “Do be careful and we’ll see you soon.”

“Okay.” Isabel ended the call and returned the phone to the backpack; she didn’t know if someone would want it. “Guess I better get back in there,” she sighed.

“Watch yourself,” Farlan warned her. “I’ll go start the truck and pull it up,” he offered as he took both of the backpacks.

She nodded before she turned back to the ruined house, and hesitated before the doorway. Just a few more minutes, of crawling through the wreckage and leaving behind the burnt remains of two good men who had done their best to protect them, to keep them safe, and then she would be on the way to see her brother after so many years. Despite Erd and Gunther’s sacrifice, she couldn’t contain the joy she felt at that thought. Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep breath before she pushed with her power and then bent down to crawl into the rubble.

*******

Once they reached the stream which Bert had remembered flying past, he dropped a panting Reiner into it and submerged his lower body as well, grateful for the cold water which washed away the remains of, of *whatever* it had been that the one mage had thrown on him. “Ar-are you okay?”

Reiner’s eyes were pinched shut as he breathed through his mouth. “Still… still hurts, but yeah, a bit better.” His body trembled as if he wanted to shift into something else, but he clenched his hands and remained in his human form; soon they both were shivering from the cold of the water and lack of clothes, so Bert dragged his lover out of the water and onto the bank of the stream, where they shifted a layer of fur for warmth.

“What was that?”

His eyes now open, Reiner shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve never, there’s never been anything to affect us like that.” He scrubbed at his close-cropped hair. “It’s not good, not at all.” His eyes blazed bronze for a moment. “Dammit, what are they doing with Eren that they figured out something like that?”

Bert shook his head, unwilling to think what mages could do to one of their own in custody. “Do you – do you think Annie’s all right?” She was supposed to be checking in on Eren and everything.

Reiner’s lips twisted as he rubbed his hands over the dark blond fur covering his arms. “Her? She’s tough, she should be all right. Probably all pissed off because she hasn’t heard from us yet.”

Bert hoped so, because he wasn’t sure what they’d do if they lost the girl, lost someone who could fight like she did. “She’s going to be upset about Hi-hitch.”

His lover shook his head. “Annie? She’ll be ticked off Hitch died while she might have been of some use, but it’s one less loose end we need to worry about.” He shook his head again. “No, we at least did some of what we wanted – we shook things up and took out two mages.”

“Yeah, but they can use that stuff against us when we fight them again. Maybe we should go back home and get more help.”

Reiner’s jaw jutted out as he continued to rub at his arms and chest, as if he was still bothered by whatever had hit him, as if he still hurt; Bert knew the spells the water mage had used against him had been painful and he could still feel his body healing. “No! We’ll look like failures if we head back now!” He gave Bert a wounded look, as if he couldn’t believe that Bert even thought about heading home. “We can do this, we know what to expect now. All we have to do is hit them hard and fast. We don’t need to worry about leaving any survivors this time. If we wait too long, they might have even more mages to fight.”

He wasn’t certain that it was as simple as that, but they did need to get Eren and to go back home; to return to where they belonged and from the danger out here.

“What do we do next?”

Reiner pulled him in close, which caused Bert to sigh from the feel of his lover’s comforting heat and magic. “We’ll give them a few more minutes back there to calm down, then sneak back. The place was in ruins so they’ll want some help, either to take them somewhere else or to pick ‘em up, and then we’ll call Annie to find out if anyone’s left yet.”

Bert nodded along with the plan – until he remembered something. “The truck! We didn’t destroy it.” He’d been so focused on getting his lover out of there that he’d just left.

Beside him, Reiner went stiff for a couple of seconds. “Shit.” His hand tightened on Bert’s left arm then he shook his head. “Even if they drive away, there’s only two of them left now. And we have the information from Annie on where they went.” His eyes took to glowing again. “We can find them.”

Bert didn’t like this, didn’t like how everything was falling apart around them… but what choice did they have but to push forward? Reiner was right in that they had to save Eren before they could return home, that had been made clear to them when they accepted the mission. “Annie should be able to help us out once we get there.”

“Yeah.” Reiner kissed him on his forehead before he urged him to stand up. “Come on, let’s get moving. I want those mages dead and Eren with us by the end of the day.”

Heaving himself onto his feet, Bert followed his lover and hoped that Reiner’s confidence wasn’t misplaced.

*******

Eren frowned at his lover. “How can you say that this isn’t my fault?” He scrubbed at his face as he stared past Levi at Annie still bound to the chair. “How can you say any of this isn’t my fault?”

Levi made a sound of frustration as he tossed Hange’s phone back to her then grabbed hold of Eren’s arm to pull him along. “Give us a few minutes,” he growled out, his gaze lingering on Mikasa for a moment.

“But-“

“Just shut up and come along,” Levi ordered as he dragged Eren with him, toward the kitchen. Eren sputtered since he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, and waited until they were alone to tug at Levi’s grip on his arm.

“Your sister lost her house because of me, didn’t she? And now Erd and Gunther are dead.” He felt as if there was something inside of his chest struggling to push free, felt his emotions begin to spiral out of control. “All of this because I didn’t walk away when I should have.”

Levi crowded in front of Eren and slid his hands along Eren’s shoulders, to the back of his neck where he rubbed along his nape; the touch did something to ease the tension inside of him, to slow the building upset even as Eren attempted to shake his head. “If you had tried to leave all those days ago, you would have just walked right into a trap – either Reiss’ or those bastards.” When Eren opened his mouth to disagree, Levi’s fingers tugged at the ends of his hair. “*Yes*. They’re throwing everything they’ve got at you, there’s no way you would have made it on your own.”

Eren snatched at Levi’s biceps even as he shivered at his lover’s ministrations. “But… but I’m getting stronger. I’ve – there’s the draining thing, and the magic stuff. The ward.”

Levi clicked his tongue and tugged on Eren’s hair again. “All of that shit has happened because you’ve stayed with *me*.” One of his hands trailed down Eren’s spine until it rested against the small of Eren’s back and urged him forward, until they pressed together; Eren ducked his head and let out a slow breath when Levi nuzzled his left temple. “You heard what Hange and Armin said, part of the changes are happening because of you meeting me.”

Because of the bond between them. Eren let go of Levi’s arms so he could fist his hands in his lover’s sweater instead. “And look at how much I’ve fucked up your life since then.” He winced when his ear was flicked moments later. “Ow.”

“I keep telling you, I don’t care that it’s fucked up. There wasn’t much for you to fuck up in the first place.” Levi brushed his lips against Eren’s forehead. “Just me stuck in my house and seeing a couple of friends every few months if Erwin didn’t have a mission for me – Hange would have ratted me out to Reiss or another organization with glee if she thought it would have gotten me a lover, and not just because of that damn bet. You think Isabel or Farlan cares about their house? Izzy would have burned it down years ago if she thought it would have meant seeing me before now.”

Eren didn’t feel any sense of falsehood from his lover, didn’t feel anything but conviction and a bit of annoyance and… and that one powerful, searing emotion that made him want to curl up against Levi, to just close his eyes and forget about everything else. It felt so good, his lover’s emotions and magic, made him almost forget about all the shit that was happening. “Still doesn’t mean people should die because of me.”

“It’s not just you – whoever it was who sent a bunch of brainwashed shifter brats out to hunt you down shouldn’t get their hands on the type of power you have. Gunther, Erd, Mike – all of them have been fighting for longer than you’ve been alive against that kind of abuse and imbalance of power.” Levi’s fingers rubbed against Eren’s nape as he spoke. “There’s no way in hell Erwin and anybody who follows him is going to let something like that happen.”

Eren let out a slow breath as he rested his head against Levi’s shoulder. “If I could, I’d give this power away.”

“Maybe that’s why you have it.” Levi continued to rub as his other hand skimmed up and down Eren’s back. “Maybe it’s why your dad didn’t tell you much about it, so you didn’t take it for granted.”

“Eh, who knows what he was thinking.” Eren groaned as he pulled away enough to look up at Levi. “I just don’t want people to keep sacrificing things for me.”

“And you have to understand that sometimes things are bigger than you,” Levi chided as he slid his fingers through Eren’s hair. “Now stop bitching about this shit, don’t say one more fucking word about another fucking house being burned down, and stop whining before I kick your ass.”

Eren blinked up at his lover. “Wow, okay, that was sweet.”

Levi smirked as he rubbed his thumb along Eren’s right cheekbone. “Sweetest damn thing you’ve ever heard.”

Eren leaned in closer to look into his lover’s grey eyes. “Did you breathe too much toxic venom or something?” Maybe Petra hadn’t been fast enough with filtering the air.

Levi was still for a moment, and then his eyes narrowed as he yanked Eren in even closer. “Very funny,” he muttered right before he kissed him.

Huh, okay, Levi’s lung capacity seemed to be all right. Eren found himself relaxing into his lover’s embrace, in the wonderful emotions as Levi deepened the kiss, as fingers tangled in his hair and a hand stroked along his back to settle on his ass. He moaned as Levi’s magic all but wrapped around him much like Levi’s arms, and shivered when Levi’s tongue brushed against his lower lip before the kiss broke off and his lover’s mouth skimmed along his chin and then neck. He began to rock his hips forward when-

“Annie’s talking again.”

Eren yelped upon hearing his sister’s voice, and would have pulled away if it wasn’t for Levi’s arms around him. A furious blush spread across his face while he felt Levi’s annoyance and frustration. “Isn’t that great?”

“Yes, I thought you might be interested in that. Also, Armin wants to give her some water.” Mikasa strolled past them on her way to the sink.

Levi clicked his tongue while he made sure that Eren remained beside him. “Of course you had to come fetch it, didn’t you?”

Mikasa nodded while she picked a glass out from the cabinet. “I wanted to check up on Eren, too.” She gave him a slight nod. “Have you calmed down now? It really isn’t your fault.”

He sighed as he pushed back the hair falling onto his face. “I guess.” He winced when Levi flicked him on the ear. “Okay, fine, it’s not my fault.”

“Keep telling yourself that until you believe it,” Levi insisted. “Because I’m about to use negative reinforcement soon.” There was a rush of cold magic as a spirit brushed past Levi. “It was a damn joke.”

“Yeah, real funny,” Mikasa deadpanned as she filled the glass with water.

“Okay, time to go see what Annie has to say,” Eren announced as he tugged on Levi’s arm. “Real important stuff, right?”

“It better be.” Levi continued giving Mikasa a flat look for a few more seconds before he followed Eren out of the kitchen; once out in the main room, they found Annie standing up and unbound from the chair, with the blanket wrapped around her as if a sarong and her rubbing her wrists. “Oi, is that a good idea?”

Armin frowned as he held out his hand for the glass of water. “She’s under a light set of geas so she won’t try to hurt us, which she allowed to be placed on her.” As soon as Mikasa gave him the glass, he passed it on to a quiet Annie, then folded his arms over his chest. “There’s no reason to treat her like that.”

“Other than the fact she’s killed how many people,” Hange added as she stood a few feet away, her eyes intent on Annie as if waiting for the shifter to make one false move.

About to take a sip of water, Annie paused as a hint of red suffused her cheeks. “I can’t… I can’t really say that I’m sorry about that. I did… well….” She shook her head.

“Good, because a simple apology won’t do shit for them right now,” Hange spat out, her voice tight with anger. “You can start by telling us how you tracked us down, though.”

Annie took a few sips of water before she handed the glass back to Armin, her eyes intent on Hange. “Bert swapped out the SIM card in the phone at Ackerman’s sister’s house. As soon as one of your group used their phone to contact hers, I got the information I needed to look up the cell towers of where that phone had been, along with the others that had been in contact with it.”

Hange stared back as something akin to admiration spread across her face, and Eren could feel a lessening of hostility. “That’s… that’s pretty fucking clever. And dammit, Erwin’s never going to let us have the damn things out of sight from now on.” She reached into the small pouch to pull out her phone and sighed. “We’re also going to have to get new phones now. I liked this one.” She stroked the device as if it were a pet.

Levi positioned himself so he was between Annie and Eren and clicked his tongue to get the other shifter’s attention. “I take it you shared that information with your buddies?” When she nodded, Eren felt his lover’s anger spike. “You share it with anyone else, like that bastard back at home?”

Annie shook her head as her bare shoulders hunched forward. “He knew from Reiner’s report that we had a way to track you down, but last I know, Reiner hasn’t told him anything. He’ll probably try to call tonight – it’s more a case of him reaching out to us than the other way around.”

“Do you think they’ll try to call him to let him know what happened?”

Annie’s blue eyes narrowed and she glanced back and forth between Levi, Eren and Armin a couple of times before answering. “What, do you mean? Oh, with your sister? I doubt it.” She tucked back a stray strand of hair and shrugged again. “If they lost the fight the way it sounds like, they won’t want him to know. I’m willing to bet they’ll do what they can to retrieve Eren and ignore anything negative.” She shivered as if cold. “Commander Jaeger… he’s not someone you want to disappoint.”

Levi took a step closer to the girl. “Like I give a fuck about disappointing a psychopathic, manipulative asshole.” He looked ready to say something else when Eren reached out to touch his arm, and clicked his tongue instead.

Armin handed Annie the glass of water again. “So Bert and Reiner will try to cover up their mistake, we got it. They also know where to find us.”

“Or the general vicinity,” Annie clarified. “They have a map and know the nearest cell tower, and a general idea from Hitch. Maybe we should go fetch my phone and disable it, make it seem like something happened so their call can’t come through.”

“That’s a good idea,” Armin agreed. “It might be that we went on the defensive after hearing from Isabel and Farlan, and put the place on some sort of lockdown.”

“They also could spot Isabel and Farlan along the way,” Hange offered. “Either way, I’d say they won’t get here for an hour or two at the earliest, which gives us a little time to prepare, and hopefully Erwin to arrive with some reinforcements – Shadis at least.”

“He said that Thomas and Lynne wouldn’t be here before nightfall at the earliest, which doesn’t do us any fucking good.” Levi returned to Eren’s side but continued to scowl at Annie. “What about you? You gonna stab us in the back as soon as your buddies show up?”

Annie’s small hands tightened on the glass she was holding and she looked first at Armin and then Eren, a green spark in her blue eyes. “I told you, my mission was to protect Eren. I don’t want to harm Reiner or Bert… but I won’t let them hurt Eren, either.”

Mikasa spoke up for the first time since bringing the water. “They’ll consider you a traitor if you don’t side with them.” She didn’t sound as if the premise bothered her, just curious about Annie’s reaction.

Annie’s mouth thinned for a couple of seconds. “I don’t… it’s easier to think now, with whatever Armin’s potion did to me.” She continued to stare at Eren. “It’s easier to see things clearly, now that I’ve gotten Eren’s side of things. If I go back home….” She handed Armin the glass of water and wrapped her arms around her middle as if cold. “It’s not really a home, is it?”

“Not if they’re using you like that,” Armin assured her in a quiet voice.

“My father always insisted that I fight, that I become strong.” A tear ran down the side of her face. “I used to wonder why, what I had to fight. I thought… I thought it was the people outside of our home, and maybe part of that is true.” She wiped away the tear with the palm of her right hand. “But maybe… maybe he wanted me to be strong enough to face the truth, to find my own way.”

There was an uncomfortable silence save for Armin murmuring things to Annie, and the emotions just then made Eren shuffle closer to Levi so he could lose himself in the feel of his lover’s magic and sense of chagrin and annoyance rather than the uncertainty, guilt and remorse he felt from the others. Levi’s hand came up to rub at the back of his neck, a reassuring gesture that made him close his eyes and smile.

“Whatever, just as long as you’re on our side,” Hange muttered. “And you don’t bitch when I go all ebola on your old friends if they don’t see the light like you did. I’m not being nice to all three of you, fuck no.”

Annie made a sniffling sound while Armin called out Hange’s name. “Somehow, I doubt Reiner’s going to be willing to listen to reason, and as long as he won’t, Bert won’t, either.” There was a bitter laugh for a moment, which made Eren reluctant to open his eyes. “No, you’ll get your revenge.”

“Great!” All sounded right in Hange’s world once again. “A little bloodshed, that’s all I ask.”

“Really, Hange? Didn’t we agree that it’s better to go after whoever sent Annie and the others after Eren?”

“Yeah, but right now? Those assholes just killed two more friends and they’re going to be more than happy to kill us too.”

“You don’t have to sound so happy about taking them down, though,” Armin shot back.

Eren buried his face in the crook of Levi’s neck while Armin started chiding the blood witch while Mikasa went off with Annie, content to pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist at the moment, just what he had here right next to him.

*******

Done with all of the bickering for a while, Levi was in the process of maneuvering his lover toward one of the couches in hopes for some quiet time alone when he twitched as Hange patted him on the back. “Well, the whole torture thing didn’t end as bloody as I wanted it, but maybe Armin’s right. Maybe we have to focus on the big fish sending out the little fish.”

He grimaced as he flicked at her hand. “Your idioms are fucked up, you do know that.”

“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes as she jerked her right thumb at the front door. “Come on, I want to talk to you.”

“And I don’t want to talk to you, so fuck off.” He turned back to Eren, only to find that Petra had latched on to his boyfriend and was giving him a nervous smile.

“Ah, I think we need to fix some caffeine for everyone.” She bobbed her head as she tugged Eren after her. “Need to keep our energy levels up and everything.”

Eren frowned as he glanced between her and Levi. “But… I’m not sure, maybe I should-“

Armin got into the act and began to push his friend after the wind mage. “Coffee sounds good! I’m sure it’ll help Annie out a lot if she has something warm to drink when she comes back.”

“Like I care,” Eren grumbled, but he was all but shoved into the kitchen between the two of them. Meanwhile, Levi glared at who he assumed was the mastermind behind that little act.

“What are you up to?”

Hange hummed as she waved him toward the front door. “What, that?” She gave him what she probably thought was an innocent smile and what looked more like a grimace. “Oh, I just mentioned that I wanted a private chat with my dear, beloved friend.” When he glared some more, she sighed. “Oh come on, Grumpy, give me like five minutes of your time. This is important.”

He had a feeling she wouldn’t leave him alone unless she got her way, which was the only reason he followed. “This better not be about wanting blood or something like that.”

She grinned while reaching for their coats. “I’m always up for that, but yeah, you’re being stingy with the good stuff.” She laughed as he took a swipe at the back of her head. “Come on, so many amazing changes going on with you and Eren! It’s for the sake of science!”

“It’s for the sake of your sick curiosity.”

“Hmm, that too.” Hange led him off the porch but didn’t go much farther. “So, you and Eren.” She hummed a little more.

He waited for something else to follow that statement then sighed. “Considering how much money you’ve made off of that fact, it’s not a surprise anymore. What are you getting at now, shitty glasses?” Too bad there was bedrock about ten feet down, or else he’d have some revenants drag her into the ground and claim he had no idea where she went.

Hange sighed as she huddled into her jacket. “Just wondering if it’s sunk in yet, that it’s you and Eren.” She gave him a pointed look for another couple of seconds. “As in, from now on out, it’s you *and* Eren.” When all he did was stare back, she shook her head. “Given any thought to what you’re going to do from now on, supposing we kick some shifter ass?”

He opened his mouth to say… what? The importance of her question hit him like spell to the chest, as if Isabel was practicing with her wind and lost control of how much power she’d put into it. “Fuck.”

“Yeah, I think he’s figuring it out now.” Hange pulled her right hand out of her pocket and tapped it against her right temple. “As far as I can tell, the two of you are tied together. From what I can *see*, it’s not just the magic keeping you together.” Her expression softened as she smiled at him. “I’m happy for you, Levi. If anyone deserves a cutie like Eren, it’s you, but I want you to think about all of this – what it means, what’s going to happen. It’s a big change.”

He was quiet as he diverted his gaze and stared at the ground for what felt to be a minute or two. “He told me that as long as I wanted him, he’s not going anywhere,” he admitted. “And… I want him.” It was a bit embarrassing saying that out loud, saying it out loud to *Hange*, but she was his best friend.

“Yeah, I figured that.” For once there wasn’t any snark or teasing to her voice. “Like I said, it’s clear there’s something between you. And as much as I love you, you grumpy bastard, and Eren’s adorable as fuck, somehow I doubt you’re going to want to crash with me forever.”

Levi looked up to glare at her. “You’re too much of a pig to be a roommate,” he insisted, then turned his gaze on the building behind them. “And I don’t think I can stand being with Mikasa for too much longer, even if she’s his sister.”

That wrung a laugh from Hange. “Somehow I figured that out.” Hange’s smile faded away as she fiddled with her glasses. “Wouldn’t be surprised if Armin’s figured it out, too, which might be why he’s been after Mikasa to give you a break.” She paused again, her expression once more serious. “What are you going to do if we can’t find this asshole uncle of Eren’s right away?”

Levi rubbed at the back of his head, at the shaved part of his hair; he needed a trim sometime soon. “I… dammit, we can’t keep putting people in the line of fire all the time, Eren won’t stand for it and I don’t blame him. We’ll figure something out.”

“But you’ll do it together.”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

Hange smiled, the expression wide and oddly tender. “That’s all I wanted.” She dared to leave forward and give him a quick hug. “Look, you’re grumpy and all, but you do deserve to be happy. Know that I’m there for whatever you need, but don’t let a chance like this slip you by.”

He didn’t use as much force as he could have when he shoved her away, embarrassed by the… the *feelings* to all of this. “Enough all ready, I get it.”

She laughed as she danced out of reach. “Aw, the two of you are adorable together!”

“And you’re deranged,” he muttered as he headed for the porch. “Any more of this emotional shit I have to put up with or are we done?”

“Nope, just wanted to get that out in the open, so to speak.” Hange’s smile slipped as she took to the steps. “With the way things have been happening lately, you might not have much time to make a decision, so….” She flapped her right hand about a couple of times.

“We’ll figure it out,” he repeated. And it would be him *and* Eren, as long as Eren still stood by the decision he’d made the other day. “How much longer do you think it’ll take Erwin to get here?”

“Hopefully not much longer.” She slicked her hands over her unruly hair. “It’s a bitch, waiting for the axe to fall.”

“Yeah, but we can hope that this takes care of the bastards for a while.” Not that Levi was a big believer in hope.

Judging from the sardonic twist to Hange’s lips, neither was his friend. “Hey, if you die, I get to do whatever I want with your blood, right?” She laughed when he took a swing at her ribs. “Come on, you get to use my body if I die!”

“You are one fucked up individual,” Levi informed her, just in case there was any doubt. “Let’s hope you get eaten by a damn unicorn or something.”

“Ha! Wouldn’t that be great!” Her laughter followed him into the kitchen, where he was looking for both his lover and a bottle of whiskey.

*******

Erwin gripped the steering wheel between his hands and stared hard out of the windshield as if he could mentally will the vehicle to get there faster, to bend the roads somehow and make the distance shorter.

“Your people are good,” Shadis assured him. “They’ll be all right.”

“You don’t know what we’re fighting. Even with the potions… at least there’s just two of them now, but two of them tore through Mike and Nanaba,” he reminded the fire mage. “And now they’re even more desperate.”

Shadis grunted as he shrugged about as if to find a more comfortable position against the corner of the door, his arms folded against his chest and his chin lowered. “You know, I didn’t join up because I wanted one more fight.” He paused again while Erwin glanced away from the road to look at his old friend. “As soon as you mentioned shifters, I had a feeling what this was about… especially when you put out the word about a ‘Grisha Jaeger’.” He fell silent as his hooded eyes stared out at the road before them.

Erwin allowed him the silence for about a minute. “Do you know something about the man?” If so, why hadn’t Shadis said something when Erwin sent out the message?

Shadis let out a slow breath and nodded. “I *knew* something.” He held out his left hand when Erwin began to speak. “Wasn’t sure it would do you much good, because it’s years old, but yeah, met him… oh, has to be over thirty years ago. Lost track of him after Karla died.” There was a distinct note of bitterness in his voice just then.

Karla… “That’s Eren’s mother,” Erwin declared; he remembered Mikasa talking about her when he asked her about a little more information.

“Yeah.” Shadis rubbed at his bald head as if he had a headache. “I knew her… hell, I knew her for a long time, back when she… well, she didn’t have the easiest life, being a latent. Her mom showed up out of nowhere and died when she was still quite young, didn’t tell her anything about her father. Still, Karla was strong – maybe a little too strong, she could be stubborn.” A slight smile lingered on his lips as if he was remembering something. “Then Grisha showed up and swept her off her feet.” The smile faded away at mention of the mysterious man.

“What was he like?”

Shadis grunted as he folded his arms over his chest. “Charming, I’ll give him that. But… looking back, should have known there was something off about him, because he didn’t know things he should have, didn’t quite fit in. It’s what won Karla over, though, since she was a latent and felt she didn’t fit in with the rest of us, nor the normals. Grisha made up some story about being too weak, of not having enough magic and so was shunned by his own magic family… but yeah, he wasn’t Reiss, wasn’t Fritz or Baumeister or any other of the local organizations…. I guess we just assumed he was from farther away and didn’t care because he didn’t play any politics or hold any affiliations.”

Erwin frowned as he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. “But he chose Karla, a latent, for his wife.” He hadn’t much time to talk to Hange because of everything that had happened, but she had passed on a little information about the captured shifter, Annie, and one tidbit was that Annie’s mother had been a latent mage.

“Yeah.” Shadis’ expression turned grim and he once again was silent as if thinking of something. “Like I said, Karla didn’t know much about her mother’s family, it was as if the woman refused to talk about the past, but I met her once or twice before she died… and I knew she hated to mention anything to do with Reiss. Got the feeling whatever her past was, it had to do with them… and she wanted to make sure they had nothing to do with Karla. That she was happy Karla was a latent.”

Was Karla connected to the Reiss in some way? Hange would know since she had read Eren’s blood, but she’d been focused on the shifter side of it. “The other shifter, the one Levi and Hange captured – Hange said her mother was a latent, too.”

Shadis didn’t seem surprised. “I did some digging after… well, after Karla was murdered and Grisha vanished with Eren. It’s not very often, and I’m ashamed to say that we – the magical community as a whole – tend to not give a shit about our kids if they’re born latent. We treat them little better than normals.” He paused to rub his right hand over his face, his expression strained as if something was bothering him. “Anyway, it doesn’t happen often, and the poor girls don’t have anywhere to turn since their families have abandoned them and the normal police are out of bounds… but if you know where to look, if you *want* to look, there’s incidents of latent women having their kids taken from them. Happens every few decades or so. Most assume it’s just the usual abduction and the such.”

The SUV swerved as Erwin figured out what Shadis was telling him. “Wait, so you’re telling me that shifters… what, come out here, impregnate women and take their children away?” Why hadn’t anyone figured this out by now?

Shadis nodded. “I think they only take the ones they know are shifters or will be useful to them, since it explains how a shifter appears out of the blue now and then. As far as I can figure out, Grisha came here to impregnate Karla… but something happened, because from the little I’ve been able to find, he should have taken Eren when he was still a toddler. Eren never should have grown up here.”

All of this was beginning to make Erwin’s head ache – no wonder Shadis appeared so unhappy. “Why the hell didn’t you ever tell me this before? That there were people taking children from our own community?” Erwin couldn’t believe that something like this had been allowed to happen, that *children* could be taken away from their mothers like that.

“Because….” Shadis shook his head as there was a pulse of magic, as if he struggled with strong emotions. “Because as far as I could tell, our own community didn’t care. Because I think Reiss and the others allow it to happen, since they look forward to those accidental shifters being born.” He rubbed at his face again, and when his hand pulled away, few flickers of flames danced along his fingers. “Because I believe it was Reiss or Fritz who tracked Grisha and Karla down, back in Shiganshina and not other shifters.” He paused to look over at Erwin. “I wanted to make sure I had enough information before I dragged you in on this, and that we weren’t taking on a fight we’d lose.” There was another grim twist to his lips before he turned his gaze back out the window. “I was also hoping to find Grisha myself first.”

It was a hell of a lot to take in, on top of what was already a rather bad situation. Erwin drove on for a few miles before he spoke again. “It would probably answer a lot of questions, if we found Grisha – why he didn’t take Eren back to wherever these shifters have hidden themselves, and what exactly he was meant to do while out here. I think it’s safe to say that they’re trying to expand their own gene pool, but why? Lack of breeding partners? Searching out particular bloodlines? Why latent women? Is it just latent women? Men wouldn’t exactly know if they impregnated someone, after all.”

“Like I said, latent women don’t have as many resources as someone with magic,” Shadis pointed out. “Yet they still have good odds of producing a magically-talented child.”

“And the shifters could be anybody.” Erwin rubbed at his forehead with his left hand. “This… we have to get through the next day or two, and then really think about this. I don’t know how much Annie knows and what she can tell us, but we need to find out more. We need to get at whoever is controlling her and the other two – and we *cannot* let them get their hands on Eren.” If by some chance all of this was for the purpose of producing a key, all that effort… yes, Eren was too important.

“Some part of me hopes that Grisha… that he couldn’t tear Eren away from Karla, that he saw how important that child was to her and couldn’t go through with it. Maybe he developed a conscience or realized what he was sent to do was wrong.” Shadis once more shook his head. “Maybe when he realized what Eren was, he decided that it would be wrong to treat a child, his own *son*, as a weapon.”

“Or maybe once he was gone from whoever is pulling Annie’s strings, he woke up and decided that such a monster didn’t deserve to control his child,” Erwin agreed. “All I know is that I refuse to allow anyone that much power – if we think things are bad enough with Reiss and the other organizations trying to control us now, it’ll be a thousand times worse with someone being able to possess that much magic with a simple whim.”

Shadis straightened up and turned to face him with a steely glint in his eyes. “But you think that Ackerman deserves it? From the little you’ve told me, he’s got the prize everyone wants, and he barely answers to you. Soon as he has his sister and friend back, that leash is gone.”

Erwin smiled as he slowed down to make the sharp curve ahead. “Levi is the only one I’d trust Eren to… it’s funny how these things work out.” He thought about Eren’s empathy and wondered just what it was that made the shifter trust Levi so quickly, how it was that Fate had decided to cross their paths. “He’s not interested in ruling the world, just in being left alone.”

Shadis stared at him for a couple of seconds before settling back in the corner of the SUV. “I hope you’re right.”

“If it’s any consolation, if I’m wrong, we’ll most likely be among the first to pay for my mistake,” Erwin assured him.

There was silence for another few miles before Shadis made a disgusted sound. “Working with you, one doesn’t mind putting their life at constant risk.”

“I do aim to be an inspiration,” Erwin admitted.

That earned him an equally disgusted look before the fire mage closed his eyes and pretended to go to sleep.

*******

Levi watched as Eren fussed with several pots, a distracted expression on his face. “Oi, you going to bang around with pots all day or what?”

“Eh?” His lover stared at him for a couple of seconds before he sighed. “I’m just… what do you want for dinner?”

“Not really in the mood to eat, to be honest.” Levi tugged Eren away from the stove and stood with his arms around the brat. “Don’t think anyone is.” Not when they would be expected to fight at any moment.

“Yeah, but-“ Eren didn’t finish the thought as he shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s something to do, now and later.”

“Defrost some steaks then, we’ll have Erwin cook them up for us as a victory dinner.” Levi frowned when he felt Eren’s magic flare at the mention of his friend. “What’s wrong?” Eren had basically been hiding in the kitchen since Erwin had returned about half an hour ago. When his lover didn’t say anything, his head ducked with those unruly bangs hiding his face, Levi clicked his tongue and made a flicking motion near Eren’s left ear.

“All right!” Eren lifted his chin to glare at Levi. “It’s… that Shadis guy, he’s creepy.”

“Huh? Shadis?” Levi rubbed his left hand along the small of Eren’s back. “He’s old as fuck and pretty strong, but he’s not that creepy. What, he make a pass at you?” As far as Levi knew, the fire mage had a thing for pretty young women… feisty, dark-haired women. Huh, Eren sorta fit the bill, except for the whole ‘not female’ thing.

“No!” Eren’s magic flared again as he stared up at Levi in horror. “It’s not that… well, his emotions are….” Eren did the hand wave thing around the side of his head as he frowned. “All goopy and stabby and-“

“Stop, just stop,” Levi sighed as he felt a headache come on. Seriously, Mikasa seemed… well, a bit psychotic when it came to her brother, but otherwise functional. How the hell had Eren turned out so backward? “Make it a fucking thesaurus that I’m going to beat you with every day until you learn it.”

Eren’s frown deepened as he attempted to stomp on Levi’s right foot. “Why do you even ask me these things?”

“Because I have the mistaken hope of a sane answer coming from you one of these days,” Levi sighed as he smacked the little shit on the ass.

“Such a mean asshole,” Eren muttered even as he slid his arms over Levi’s shoulders.

Yeah, funny how hearing that shouldn’t make Levi’s heart race, or for him to smile the slightest bit. “You know it,” he breathed out as he leaned in for a kiss, for a moment content to forget all about the other shifters and the upcoming fight, and damn did this feel good, did-

“Oh, sorry, just wanted a cup of coffee.”

Eren’s magic sputtered as Eren went stiff in Levi’s arms as Shadis stalked past them, intent on the coffee machine. Levi gritted his teeth as he pulled back, his eyes narrowed as he watched as the grizzled fire mage fetched a mug and poured himself some coffee. “Yeah, never mind us.” They really needed to get their own place or something.

“Well, you are in the middle of the kitchen.” Dressed in plain khaki pants and a white button down shirt, Shadis looked as if he should report for work somewhere, maybe some shit where he did stuff with his hands considering his leathery skin and scuffed boots, just an average guy until you caught the sharp gleam in his hooded brown eyes.

“Wasn’t like we were doing all that much.” Beside Levi, Eren began to fidget, a slight flush to his cheeks and his head ducked once more; Levi noticed that Shadis was staring at his lover, but wasn’t getting any ‘perv’ vibe from the man. If anything, the expression was a bit fond and almost sad.

“Still, better places for such things.” Then Shadis let out an amused snort. “But people do odd shit before a fight, so whatever.” He took a sip of his black coffee then raised the mug as if in a salute. “I’ll leave you two to it.”

“Uhm, that’s okay,” Eren mumbled as the man walked away.

Something was going on there, and Levi had a feeling that Erwin might know what. Levi motioned to the main room with his head, and Eren followed as he went there to see if he could find his friend.

Of course the bastard was busy talking to Armin, Hange and Annie about the other shifters, which caused Levi to huff in annoyance. So instead they went over to the fireplace, where Mikasa and Petra seemed to be standing for some warmth. “So Hange stop bitching for Annie’s blood yet?”

Petra winced at the question while Mikasa shrugged. “She seems to have accepted that Annie’s being of use to us.” Mikasa stared at the other group of mages and shrugged again. “Armin trusts her.” She then turned her attention to her brother.

Eren tucked his hands into the sleeves of the blue sweater he’d ‘borrowed’ from Levi and flipped his arms about a couple of times. “Still not picking up anything from her that’s bad, but I don’t read her like I do Levi.”

Levi let his emotions make it clear how unhappy he was at the thought of Eren getting too close to the other shifter again. “Yeah, you’re not doing another repeat of the whole sharing emotions thing again.”

“It did seem to help,” Petra pointed out, and then winced when Levi glared at her. “Never mind.”

“I can always drain her magic if everyone’s worried.” Eren entwined his left arm around Levi’s right. “Is that all right, oh great Levi?”

The sarcasm got the brat a flick to the forehead. “Let’s leave that as a method of last resort, and don’t you forget it.” He smirked when Eren rubbed his abused forehead against Levi’s shoulder.

Mikasa gave him a cool look for his actions before she patted Eren on the back. “At least you didn’t seem to have a headache from draining her magic.”

“Yeah.” Eren raised his head and appeared to consider that. “Either it’s getting better or just doing her magic wasn’t so bad.”

“Or the mental ward is helping.” Mikasa looked over in Annie’s direction in a thoughtful manner. “I’m not saying to drain her dry, but maybe we should do a little experiment later.”

Hange would love this, someone else proposing experiments, and those dealing with the other shifter at that. “We’ll be sure to schedule that in between all the free time we have,” Levi drawled.

Mikasa’s expression was a little cool in return, but before there was any more snide remarks, there was a jarring sensation as something set off the wards. “Fuck, that should be Isabel and Farlan.” Hope warred with fear inside of Levi as he all but ran toward the door, with Eren by his side. “I mean it this time – stay the fuck inside until we make sure that they weren’t followed.” Since Mikasa had been right on their heels, he gave her a slight nod and felt relief when she all but pressed against her brother, hands tight on his arms.

“But I- dammit.” Eren frowned at his sister when he realized that she had every intention of keeping him in the lodge, then looked back at Levi. “Be careful.”

“I’m not you.” Levi tucked back a strand of his lover’s hair to take the sting out of his words, then was through the door, with Hange, Petra, Erwin and Shadis behind him; he noticed that Armin and Annie had stayed inside as well.

All five of them fanned out in front of the building and waited for Gunther’s truck to pull up, attention split between the ground and the air. Levi felt his heart in his throat as he spotted the two familiar figures in the cab, as he could feel their familiar magic once the truck came close enough and parked a few feet away; he sent out a pulse of his own magic to feel for any sense of death, on the off chance that Hitch really wasn’t dead, and felt relief when there wasn’t any taint of a necromantic spell.

The truck had barely stopped when the passenger door opened up and Isabel spilled out, almost falling onto her face in the rush to run towards him. “Levi! Brother!” She was laughing and crying at the same time, a huge smile on her face and tears welling in her green eyes as she flung herself into his arms; it had been years since he’d last held her and she’d been crying then, too, but her magic was the same, she felt the same, and Levi held her close as she chanted his name.

Farlan was only a few seconds behind her, a familiar wash of magic as he laughed and hugged them both, a little taller now, shoulders a bit broader and grey eyes possessing a bit more patience. As Levi set his sister down, he noticed that both of their hair was a little longer now – well, Isabel’s a lot longer, and that they looked good. The lingering stress and thinness that had haunted them back in Subrosa was gone, they appeared well-fed if exhausted.

“Damn you look good,” he told them as he brushed at a hint of dirt on his sister’s face, never mind the slight tears and snags in her sweater and jeans, the streaks of dirt on the both of them.

“And so do you!” Isabel leaned in for a quick hug. “You look exactly the same!” Then she stepped back a little. “But your magic… there’s something odd about it.”

During their greeting, Hange and Erwin had come closer. “It’s good to see the two of you again,” Erwin said with a slight bow of his head. “Though I wish it were under better circumstances.”

The smile on Farlan’s face faded as he hugged Isabel to him. “Yes, it’s good to see you, too, Smith. I’m sorry about Gunther and Erd.”

Erwin’s body stiffened for a moment and he shook his head. “They were good men, and they did their best.” He glanced up at the sky before looking at Levi. “Perhaps it’s best if we take this inside?”

“Yeah, for however much longer we have.” Levi looked about, well aware that the clock really was ticking now and wondered if the other shifters were waiting for a sign of Eren or Annie. “Come on, let’s see if you can at least meet the others. You know Erwin, the freak with the glasses is Hange and next to her is Petra.”

Hange waved while Petra gave Isabel and Farlan a welcoming smile. “We didn’t see any signs of being followed,” Farlan explained, “and Izzy cast spells the entire way to confuse anyone trying as well as to wipe out our trail.”

“I know my stuff,” Levi’s sister muttered with a gleam of dark gold in her eyes.

“I’m sure you do,” Erwin agreed, “it’s just that we now know that they don’t necessarily need to follow you to get to us. It all depends on how long it’ll take them to recover from that last fight and get here themselves.”

“If they’re flying, it’s less time than driving because of being able to take a more direct route,” Hange had to add in. “Factor in the recovery process and searching about, and I’d say we’re cutting it close.”

“Thank you,” Erwin told her with a sting of sarcasm.

Isabel grabbed hold of Levi’s left hand and smiled up at him. “We’re here now! We fought them off before, just give us some more potions and we’re good to go!”

“Don’t get cocky,” he warned her. “They’ve got a lot less to lose now, and they know what to expect.”

She frowned at the reprimand while Farlan grinned. “Told you not to get ahead of yourself.”

“Oh hush. And where’s this boyfriend of yours? I want to meet him!”

Yeah, this was going to be fun. Levi waved at the front door, which was partially opened; Isabel grinned as she let go of his hand and raced toward it, prompting a startled yelp when it was thrown open.

Coming in behind her, Levi found Isabel facing off with Mikasa, who was standing sentry in front of a wide-eyed Eren, while Annie and Armin stood off to the side with wary expressions as if waiting to see if they needed to jump in at any moment. “Eh? Who are you?” Isabel demanded to know.

“Mikasa,” was all Eren’s sister said, which made Levi roll his eyes.

“That’s Eren’s sister,” he explained while he sent a spirit to push her aside; Mikasa glared at him over the use of his magic, but she got out of the way. “Come here, brat.”

Eren hesitated for a second or two, his magic pulsating as if he was tempted to shift into something before he twitched about and then sidled around Isabel toward Levi, his eyes shading to gold. “Oh for fuck’s sake, she’s not going to bite you,” Levi grumbled as he latched on to the back of Eren’s neck. “Relax.” He moved the two of them farther into the foyer so everyone behind them could get inside.

Meanwhile, Isabel continued to stare at Eren as if he was something exotic or unknown. “Wow, he really is as cute as his picture!” She made as if to touch him, only to be pulled back by Farlan. “What?” she snapped at the man.

“Leave him be,” Farlan chided. “You’re scaring him.”

“But I was just going to give him a hug,” she insisted.

“Maybe not right now.”

“He’s family now, I can hug him if I want!” Isabel scowled at her husband before turning to Levi. “Right?”

Levi rolled his eyes as he tugged Eren closer. “No groping, remember?”

“Eh?” Eren blinked in surprise as he pressed against his lover’s side; meanwhile Farlan laughed and Isabel pouted.

“He’s kidding,” she explained. “It was only one time and my hand slipped – I was trying to pick someone’s pocket and messed up.”

Eren didn’t seem to think that explanation made it any better as he damn near attempted to crawl *into* Levi. “Uhm….”

“Aw, he really is adorable.” Isabel beamed at Levi. “You lucked out, Brother.” Then her expression hardened as she looked back at Eren. “Now make sure you treat Levi right, okay?”

Eren seemed to squeak out an ‘okay’ as his power flared again, and Levi figured his lover was about three seconds away from shifting into a cat or chimera. “Relax,” he ordered again as he rubbed Eren’s nape. Little shit could drain all of them dry with a thought and he was freaking out over Isabel, it figured….

Meanwhile, he clicked his tongue while he reached out to tousle Isabel’s hair. “Mind your manners,” he told the young woman. “And he’s doing all right.”

“Really, Izzy, can’t take you anywhere.” Farlan sounded ready to laugh at any minute as he hugged his wife.

“I’m just looking out for my brother,” Isabel whined.

Before Levi could tell her that he did just fine looking out for himself, Armin came over, with Mikasa and Annie right behind him. “Hello, I’m Armin, Eren’s friend.” He gave Eren a sympathetic look. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Isabel and Farlan echoed the sentiments, while Eren unglued himself a little from Levi’s side. Once the pleasantries had been exchanged, Armin’s demeanor became more serious. “So, no sign of them yet?” It didn’t take a genius to figure out who he meant by ‘them’.

“No,” Levi told him. “Farlan said he didn’t think they were followed.

Annie edged forward a little. “Reiner and Bert might be a bit cautious since they never heard from me.” As soon as she started talking, Hange and Erwin sidled closer to hear what she was saying. “If they managed to get here before you, or followed without you noticing, they may be watching from a safe distance to see who came out to greet you and so get a feel for how many people are here – they were hoping I’d provide them that intel.”

Isabel’s eyes went wide while Annie talked. “Eh, you’re a shifter? You’re one of them?” She pointed at Annie as she spoke, until Farlan batted her hand down.

“Annie is helping us now,” Armin explained.

“Yeah, because she doesn’t want to be killed,” Hange muttered.

“Because she now knows better and is free of the geas,” Armin stressed while glaring at the blood witch. He looked ready to say something else before Erwin held up his hands.

“Enough of this argument!” He scowled at the two before gazing at Annie. “My understanding is you turned over your phone to Hange, who disabled it. She checked and neither of your… former associates had called before it was turned off, so they should believe that your phone is out of service at the moment.”

“Yeah, and I whipped up a spell that should be messing with their phones right now – any phone that doesn’t have one of the SIM cards which Erwin’s people use in it right now, to explain why yours wouldn’t be working.” Armin smoothed his right hand over his leather satchel as if seeking reassurance from one of his potions.

Annie slid her hands into the sleeves of pink sweater Petra had leant her as if cold. “I’m just trying to think like Bert and Reiner – if it were me, I’d either attempt to sneak in myself to look around and find out why ‘I’d’ gone silent or I’d gather enough information before I made any moves before risking another failure. Then when I did fight, I would hit you guys hard, with the most powerful shape possible.”

“Ehh…”

Levi ignored his sister to nudge Eren in the side. “Is what she’s saying true?”

His lover frowned as he tugged on a strand of his long bangs. “Hmm, she’s not lying from what I can tell, and yeah, it makes sense. They know that their ward is out in a fight, but they still think they can sneak past ours, and there’s forms with a really tough hide they can use, ones that’ll let them take more abuse from certain spells and your revenants.”

Annie nodded. “The problem will be Eren and his powers – they don’t know he can drain their magic directly, which is helpful, but they’ll want to take him down as quickly as possible to prevent him-“

“Drain magic? What the hell?”

Annie ignored Farlan’s outburst and continued. “-from harming him.” Her blue eyes flickered to Levi. “They’ll also be targeting Levi, per our orders.”

That startled an outburst from Isabel and a laugh from Hange. “Yeah, let them try – it’ll be the fastest and most certain way to make Eren drain ‘em.” She grinned as she reached out to pat Eren on the head – at least until Levi batted her hand aside.

Levi glared at the pain in the ass – and noticed the assessing look which Erwin was giving Eren and Annie. “Oh, *fuck* no, I know that look, and it’s never good.” He pulled Eren back against him while he summoned a spirit. “Fuck, no!”

Erwin’s air took on a wounded aspect while Mikasa shuffled closer to Eren, her expression murderous and her threads loosely cast out in front of her brother. “You’re not even giving the plan a chance,” Erwin murmured.

“I can already tell it’s evil.”

“Maybe, but I think it’ll work.” Erwin turned toward Armin. “You’re certain that your potions broke whatever geas Annie was under and have now rendered her loyal to us?”

Yeah, now Armin was squaring off against the Evil Bastard. “I have every faith in that she’s not lying to us and that she’s incapable of harming us, but nothing I gave her will make her a mindless lackey, no.”

Erwin shrugged. “Fair enough.” He directed his attention to Eren – or what could be seen of Eren behind Mikasa and Armin. “You said you trust Annie?”

“Uhm, I don’t believe she’s lying.”

“I suppose that will do. My plan is to have Annie appear to drag Eren outside, as if she had subdued him and is attempting to remove him from our protection. If it’s true that the other shifters are watching and attempting to figure out a plan of attack, then we can hopefully trigger them to move before they are ready.” He folded his arms over his chest and waited for a response.

“Hmm, it could work,” Hange argued.

Shadis nodded as well. “Makes them think they have another fighter on their side, as well as Eren out of the equation.”

Levi felt a nerve beneath his left eye twitch while Isabel stared up at him as if waiting for the oncoming explosion and Eren was tense in his arms. “Are you fucking nuts? Do you know what all could go wrong with that plan?”

“Yes, Annie defecting on us is the primary flaw to it, but on the whole, I think it’s worth the risk.” Erwin arched his thick eyebrows and gave Levi a bland smile. “Do you have a better one, rather than stand around and wait for them to attack?”

“Listen, you shitty-“

Farlan held up his hands in a placating manner. “Look, I don’t know this Annie and we’ve only fought these guys once, but I think he’s on to something here.” He winced at Levi’s scowl and shook his head. “Those two – well, three with the necromancer – were pretty powerful before. I know there’s more of us now, but like Eren and Annie said, they’re going to be determined and prepared. Why not make the offensive strike for once?”

Levi didn’t like it, didn’t like the thought of using Eren for bait, but his lover twisted about in his arms and glanced up at him. “I don’t mind, not if you, Mikasa and Armin are here for me.” His magic was quiet, a sure sign of his trust.

Levi cupped his hands around Eren’s face and held it steady for a gentle kiss, mindful of the damn attention everyone was paying for them. “You let yourself get captured, I will kick your ass so fucking hard,” he warned.

“Yeah, yeah,” Eren breathed back before smiling. “The ‘great’ Levi better not fail.”

“As if,” Levi scoffed, before looking over at Annie. “If this is a trick, I will fuck you up so bad that you’ll wish Hange had finished with you earlier.”

To her credit, Annie held his gaze before giving him a solemn nod. “It’s not, you’ll see.” Then she stared at Eren and seemed to consider something. “How are we going to do this? We need to make it convincing.”

Hange leered at the two shifters as she made grabby motions with her hands. “I think it’s time the two of you got naked.”

While Levi and Mikasa glared at the lunatic and Armin groaned, Isabel shook her head and frowned at Farlan. “I am so confused right now.”

*******

Reiner hopped along the tree branch to get a better look at the lodge; the sun was starting to go down, so he would need to shift into something with better night vision soon. A few feet away, Bert ruffled the feathers of the small hawk form he’d shifted into for better heat insulation, a faint sense of nervousness radiating off of him.

Reiner knew his lover was unhappy with the plan, knew that Bert would much prefer finding more help, but if they went back home…. He shook his shifted body, feathers ruffling about at the thought of Commander Jaeger’s displeasure of them returning empty handed.

No, they’d wait a little longer and see what had happened to Annie, find out more intel and salvage what they could of this mission. They’d tried calling again once they’d located the huge cabin and found their phones jammed, which explained why their partner hadn’t been able to call them back. So far everything appeared quiet inside the building, and they’d confirmed that Ackerman was indeed here. At the very least, if they could kill him before returning home, then it wouldn’t be a complete failure. They could sneak in during the night, find him asleep and inject him with some sort of poison before the man even know what had bit him. Yeah, maybe it was time to give up on something so direct. Maybe they could take out several of the mages that way until there weren’t enough to fight back, and then grab Eren. Reiner wondered what type of snake or spider would be best….

There was motion on the front porch, the front door opening just part way, which snapped him out of his thoughts and made Bert hop closer. At first it was difficult to see what was happening, what had made the door open, and then Reiner’s heart seized when he saw a catlike shape, something like a dark grey ocelot, slink along the front porch. What the hell, was that Annie? What was she doing? And what was that in her mouth? Was that… that was a cat, was a gold and brown tortoiseshell cat which appeared unconscious.

Wait, had she managed to grab Eren? Hope and panic flooding through him at the same time, Reiner flew off the branch, along with Bert, as they went to figure out what the hell Annie had just done. Inside the huge building there was a flare of magic and the sounds of yelling, of people calling out Eren’s name as the mages seemed to realize that he’d disappeared, and Annie’s slinky gate picked up speed.

Dammit, Reiner had told her not to do something stupid, to not act on her own! But if those other mages had said something about fighting them, had maybe exaggerated their wounds… maybe Annie believed she had no choice. Reiner flew straight to her in order to provide backup just in case the mages realized that Eren was gone from the house – and felt first a slight tingling presence of the wards as he slipped past them, then almost a vice-like grip as he was caught up in terrible-cross winds, as spirits whirled around him, tore at his wings and feathers, spun him around and battered at him and-

There was a horrible shriek from Bert as he was caught in the same wicked drafts of air; Reiner did his best to shift, to change into something that would allow him to fly but the winds were too strong so he finally gave in and changed into something that would just carry him to the ground and survive the impact. As it was, his wings were broken and body battered, his healing factor struggling to kick in as his magic allowed his body to flow into a more suitable shape in case he needed to fight.

He rolled as he hit the ground, bull’s head heavy with wide, sharp horns, skin as thick and as dense as he could make it, plated as much against magic as possible as well as projectile weapons and blades. Not too far off was Bert, writhing on the ground as he shifted into a wyvern, scales metallic in the fading sunlight, green and black with stunted black wings, black fur on a canine head; their eyes met for a couple of heartbeats, seeking reassurance before a wave of magic put them on the defensive.

Several mages streamed out of the large building, Ackerman in the lead, and Reiner noticed that Annie – along with Eren – was no longer to be seen. He roared at the mages as he prepared to charge, only flinching a little at the wall of flames sent his way by the fire mage he’d fought earlier. Kill Ackerman, he chanted to himself. Give Annie time to run off with Eren, and kill Ackerman.

He had to slash his way through several revenants, the smell of burnt flesh and hair heavy in the air as Bert attempted to burn through the ones swarming over him. The two fire mages and the air mage left Reiner alone to handle his lover instead, meaning that Reiner got to put up with hellfire and potions being flung his way. He roared yet again and managed to get off a spell which caused the older mage to fling up a hasty set of wards to deflect the sudden rush of jagged stones which erupted from the earth, so Reiner attempted to rush the alchemist during that time. His hide could hold up against the potions for a few more seconds, so best to gore him quick, rip out his- before he could reach the alchemist, a familiar, warded form raced before him and snatched the young man from harm, Reiner’s razor sharp right horn scraping against her crystalized back without harm.

“Annie?” What the hell, had Annie saved one of the enemy? But she was supposed to be running off with Eren, not their targets! Reiner bellowed in rage, right before a glowing white thread wrapped around his horns and yanked him off balance.

He spun around to find the Jorōgumo from the blood witch’s house standing a few feet away, those damn threads waving around her, along with the shimmer of spirits. When he began to charge at her, the earth trembled and more revenants reached up to grab onto his arms and legs, to attempt to hold him trapped to the ground; he crushed them with his strength, with his hands and hooves and horns, his rage building… and his strength dwindling. His breath coming in panting heaves, Reiner lifted his head, his suddenly too-heavy head and noticed Ackerman a few yards away, eyes glowing silver and arms around Eren, who had a coat draped over his shoulders and held closed with his hands, golden eyes also aglow. The Jorōgumo and the blood witch flanked them on one side… and Annie on the other, in her giant form, with the alchemist slightly behind as if for protection.

Annie… and Eren. Reiner felt his magic weaken with each breath, while Eren’s grew stronger, while the sense of that awful, wild magic pressed him down into the ground as much as the revenants.

Annie and Eren, who had drawn him and Bert into the clearing, into a fight they now had no hope of winning. He could hear his lover’s panicked cry and summoned up the last of his fading strength. “Tuh-trap! Go! Go n-“ Threads wrapped around his muzzle and snapped it shut, cut off the warning he was calling out to Bert while the last of his magic was drained out of him.

Barely able to breathe and faint from the lack of magic, Reiner felt himself revert back to his human shape and then there was something in his hair, felt something tug his head up. He groaned as someone hovered in front of him, glowing red dots and a wide white slash. “Not gone just yet? Good, you’ll feel this before you die. This is for Moblit, for all of my friends.”

The grip in his hair was gone, and Reiner could only hope that Bert had managed to escape, that he could warn the others about Annie, about-

Then there was pain. *Pain*. So much agony, tearing into him, tearing him apart as he screamed, as it ate through him, and oblivion couldn’t soon enough.

*******

Levi stared at the broken and bloody mess on the ground in front of Hange as he willed the revenants to fade away, the energy of the death tingling along his nerves while Eren’s magic continued to soak into his flesh. “Overkill or what?” he chided his friend.

“Hey, I took my shot when I had it.” She dusted off her hands while Eren wrapped Levi’s arms tighter around his chest and off to the side, Annie shook her head as if to clear it of the sight before her.

“It had to be done,” Mikasa reminded them, on target as usual, while she looked off in the direction of the commotion across the yard. “What about the other one?”

“Reiner was warning him,” Annie announced as they turned toward the others.

“I didn’t feel another death.”

“No, and I… uhm, there was a lot of energy from him,” Eren gestured to the dead shifter, the coat slipping from his shoulders, “but not sure I’ve enough from two of them?” He frowned as he took a step forward, only to sigh when Levi pulled him back to his side; until they knew what happened to the other shifter, he was staying close.

Shadis was lying on the ground, but his eyes were open and his wrinkled face sweaty as he groaned in pain, with Petra and Farlan leaning over him while Isabel and Erwin stood a few feet away with fireballs hovering about them. Fuck, that didn’t look good. “Don’t tell me you let that other bastard slip free,” Levi called out as he pulled Eren even closer.

Erwin shook his head, his lips pressed in a grim line. “He went out of control once the one you were fighting called out the warning, sent out a huge plume of fire and venom and by the time Isabel and Petra had cleared the air, he was gone.” Erwin gestured with another ball of flame toward a hole in the ground. “Now there’s another thing we’ll have to ward against.”

Annie gasped as she shifted into a more or less human shape, her nudity covered with a thick, golden fur. “I’m sorry – I’m so used to flying that I didn’t think about that.”

“You and Eren both,” Armin assured her while he looked over at his friend; Levi glanced at his lover to find Eren frowning at the ground, his mouth twisted in obvious distaste. “But that’ll be easier to ward with the new potion, at least.”

“Such a fucking cat,” Levi chided his lover.

“How do you even do that?” Eren mumbled as if he hadn’t heard Levi. “I mean, wings I can figure out, but where does the dirt go? What if you find something nasty down there?”

Erwin’s displeasure lessened a little as he studied the two shifters. “Well, like I said, now we know. And other than Shadis’ ribs, no casualties.”

“Fuhckin’ tail,” the old fire mage wheezed as Farlan helped him to sit up. “Who has a fucking tail?”

“Shifters,” Armin summed up with some satisfaction as he reached for a potion. “Also, wings, horns, claws, spikes and a bunch of other nasty things if so inclined.”

“I’m too old for this shit,” Shadis grumbled, his face haggard and grey *before* he took the potion, and not improving for a few seconds afterwards. “What I don’t do for old friends.”

Yeah, Erwin owed the poor guy for his help. “Come on, let’s go back inside unless we think someone’s going to return for another round.”

“No, I can’t see Bert doing that, not with Reiner dead.” There was a bit of remorse in Annie’s voice as she looked back at the dead body. “I imagine he’s not going to stop until he reaches home.”

“Not the most cheerful thought, but at least we know we’re good for tonight.” Erwin waved them on inside. “I’ll deal with the mess.”

“Oh, let me get some blood first!”

Leaving those two to clean up, Levi waited for Isabel and Farlan to follow while he shoved Eren toward the porch. “Come on, time to get some clothes back on.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Eren dug in his heels as they reached the porch to twist about in Levi’s grip, and as soon as his fingers slid into Levi’s hair, Levi knew what to expect; he ran his hands along Eren’s spine as his lover gave him a lingering kiss, the sense of magic addicting as energy flowed into him to wash away the exhaustion and stress of the long-ass day. “Better now?” Eren asked as he rocked back on his heels, his eyes heavy-lidded and voice husky.

“Hmm, that certainly helps.” Levi gave Eren’s ass a gentle pat. “Now get in there.”

“Asshole.”

“We really do need to see if Eren can give someone else that magic.” Armin sounded a bit wistful just then.

“What, that was Eren giving Levi magic? It was weird, that rush just then.” Farlan eyed Levi as they entered the lodge and Eren picked up the pile of folded clothes left on the long table against the wall.

Armin nodded, while Mikasa took the clothes from Eren and handed them to him one by one as he slipped on his boxers and sweatpants beneath Levi’s coat. “It’s part of the bond between the two of them, so I’m thinking we’re just going to be jealous of Levi.”

“I’ve never heard of a shifter being able to do what Eren does,” Annie admitted.

“All part of the fun of being a key.” Eren sounded a bit tired as he shrugged out of the coat, which he handed to Levi before tugging on his sweater.

“Look on the bright side, at least no weird talents appeared during the fight today,” Levi pointed out as he hung up his coat, right about the same time Erwin and Hange came back inside.

“Oh, yah.” Eren slicked back his tousled hair as he gave Levi an unhappy look. “It’s all your fault if something bad happens now.”

“As if – don’t you know by now it’s always your fault?” He smirked when his lover made a spitting nose and attempted to hit him, and caught Eren’s fists to pull him in for a quick kiss. “Don’t tempt fate, brat.”

“Whatever.” Off to the side, Isabel laughed at their antics while Mikasa sighed.

Annie yawned as she scratched at her… pelt? “Well, this is all fun, but I’d like to get dressed, too.”

“Sure!” Armin handed her the pile of clothes she’d set aside earlier and then became flustered. “Ah, let’s take you upstairs so you can change in some privacy.”

The two of them headed up the stairs, their cheeks red and eyes adverted, while Mikasa let out another weary sigh. “Great, I get one set straightened out and Fate dumps another one on me,” she muttered while shaking her head.

Isabel sent Levi a confused look and he barely, just barely resisted the urge to say something – and caught Eren’s elbow before it smacked into his ribs – while feeling rather smug at the moment. Sometimes karma could be a bitch.

*******

“Aw come on, I want to see the cat again! Or wait, didn’t Levi say earlier that you were a dragon once?” Isabel clapped her hands as she leaned toward Eren, her expression intent as if she expected to be obeyed. “Be a dragon!”

“Uhm, I… I need something from the bedroom. I”ll be… yeah, it’s upstairs.” Eren thought he managed to give Isabel a grin while her husband admonished her about giving him a little space, and all but scrambled across the living room and up the steps; Armin, Mikasa and Petra were down the hall in Petra’s room, going through the air mage’s clothes to find some spare outfits for Annie since it appeared she’d be staying with them for at least a few days – Annie and Isabel, while Levi was talking to Erwin, Hange and Shadis. Eren had thought he could handle some ‘alone’ time with Farlan and Isabel – well, Farlan seemed like a nice guy, but Isabel was *frightening*. Where did she get all of that energy?

He sat down on the bed and begun to wonder how long he could hide in the room when the door opened, and just when he was about to shift into something truly small like a rat just in case it was Isabel, he felt Levi’s magic and began to relax. “Oh thank the Fates.”

Levi gave him a knowing smirk as he approached the bed. “Izzy break you already?”

There was a whine in his voice as he reached for his lover, and Eren didn’t care. “She won’t *stop*! There’s all these questions about my talent and what I can shift into, about what the bond is between us and what it’s like to feel your emotions, what my intentions are to you and-“ He smacked Levi on the shoulder when he felt his lover’s amusement. “It’s not funny! Gah!” Eren jerked his right hand through his hair as he huddled into himself on the bed. “I’m about to change into… oh, I don’t know, a fox or something and go hide in the forest until she’s gone!”

Levi chuckled a few times, the sound deep and too amused, the bastard, as he stroked his thumb over Eren’s right cheekbone. “I just think it’s a bit of a payback, considering what Mikasa’s put me through.”

“… yeah, okay.” Still, Eren gave him another light whap before he leaned against the bastard. “Is she going to stop anytime soon?” He groaned when he felt the smug amusement over the link. “I hate you so much right now,” he informed his lover as he thought about Isabel chasing him through the lodge.

“Sure you do.” Levi caught at Eren’s hands and pulled him in close. “I mean, it’s completely reasonable – she’s just this young woman who has you utterly terrified and here you’ve fought all these mages and three shifters. Take it all out on me.”

“She’s *your* sister,” Eren explained.

“My sister, who’ve you finally met.”

“Yeah.” Eren tugged at his hands and huffed when of course they weren’t released. “So, what happens now? You’ve got your sister back, her and Farlan.” He chewed on his bottom lip as he stared up at Levi.

His lover’s emotions took on a more contemplative turn as Levi’s fine brows drew together. “Honestly? I’m not sure – Erwin was asking some evasive as fuck questions so I think he’s putting together a plan, and Isabel made sure to bitch enough that she’s tired of being stuck in the middle of nowhere so I’m sure she’ll protest about being hidden away again.” Levi’s emotions sharpened as his attention focused back on Eren. “What about you? You change your mind yet?”

“Eh?” Eren attempted to figure out what that meant. “About what?”

Levi clicked his tongue as he toppled both of them onto the bed so they lay stretched out. “About staying with me?” He let go of Eren’s wrists so he could skim them along the front of Eren’s sweater, his emotions a mix of expectation and hesitancy.

Oh, that; Eren shook his head. “Told you, I was here for however long as you want me.” Then he thought about what he’d just said. “Uhm, well, not *here*, but-“

Levi yanked on his sweater while clicking his tongue. “I get it.” He tugged again, which prompted a yelp from Eren as he was pulled onto his back. “Good, because not ready to bury you out in the yard just yet.”

“You… such an ah-“ Eren’s complaint was cut short as Levi began to pull down his sweatpants and boxers, emotions a potent mix of desire, anticipation and dark amusement. “Ah, Levi – the others-“ Eren reached for Levi and ended up fisting the duvet instead when his lover yanked down his clothes almost to his knees. “Ah!”

“They’re not here,” Levi insisted before he placed a kiss on the inside of Eren’s right thigh, hands busy pushing up his sweater even as Eren moaned at the dual feel of magic and emotions rushing into him. Those hands skimmed along his belly and then his thighs, and right at the feel of warm air on his skin preceding another kiss did his lover’s calloused yet long fingers wrap around his hardening cock.

Eren cried out when Levi gently pulled the foreskin down to expose the oversensitive tip, his hips bucking forward as he was stroked to full hardness, and the building sense of anticipation was all the forewarning he had before Levi’s lips wrapped around him, the slide of a warm, wet tongue along his length, the almost too tight grip of Levi’s fingers along the base of his cock as Levi took him entirely in his mouth. He panted at the amazing feel of moist tightness around him, of Levi’s magic soaking in to him, the desire and possessiveness, the lap of a warm tongue along the tip of his cock and then more of that slow suck, oh *fuck*, a hand sliding along to give his ass a squeeze and Levi’s eyes, those eyes and emotion and magic and no-

“Don’t,” Eren almost pleaded as Levi sucked on the tip of his cock, hand stroking along the rest of the length while Eren shuddered and fought not to claw at the duvet. “No, Levi, no-ah!” Amusement, desire and a throbbing pleasure warred with the intense ecstasy that thundered through Eren, that sizzled through his nerves as he came; it felt as if he was suspended inbetween a shift, his mind and body in complete flux and open to *anything*, just a jumbled mess and ohhh, yeah, Levi, Levi’s emotions and warmth weight, sliding up along him until their lips met. Eren felt ‘solid’ once more, felt centered as he wrapped his left arm around his lover, his right sliding into Levi’s boxer’s to wrap around his lover’s larger hand, to join in on jerking him off. Hmm.

“So jangly,” Eren murmured against Levi’s lips, his eyes still closed as he focused on his lover’s emotions and magic. “Nice.”

“The fu-uck?” There was a hitch in Levi’s deep voice, and then he began to laugh, amusement quickly overcome with sharp pleasure as he drew in a quick breath and pressed his forehead against Eren’s neck. There were warm spurts over Eren’s hand and along his belly, and Levi chuckled a few more times as he slowly relaxed, pressing Eren onto the bed. “’Jangly’? Seriously?”

Eren paused in pulling his hand free to poke a certain asshole in the side. “Jangly. It’s… oh, never mind,” he huffed. Why did he even bother, he asked himself as he wiped his hand clean on his scrunched up sweater, which was already dirty.

Levi noticed what he did with the sweater and used it to wipe his hand clean as well, which earned him a nasty look, before he pushed up on his hands so he could look down on Eren. “You do know that you can’t just make up your own words, or your own meaning for words, forever? There’s a perfectly good language for you to use so use it.”

“But it’s not so perfect,” Eren insisted as he pushed his lover away. “Oh, go wash off, you’re all grootchy and- stop giving me that look!”

Levi managed to get off of the bed with too much grace for an old man, the asshole, and then hauled Eren along with him. “A damn thesaurus, you hear? Even if we have to read it together, you’re going to learn it.”

Doing his best to not trip and fall because of his pushed down pants, Eren growled a little as he managed to get rid of the garments, and then squawked when his sweater was yanked over his head. Somehow he wasn’t surprised to find himself shoved into the shower so they could wash off, and only stopped scowling at his lover once Levi washed his back. “Do we really have to go back down there?”

“Yes.” Once he was all washed off, Levi pulled him in for a quick kiss and then pushed him toward the end of the bathtub. “If we don’t, Isabel will figure out a way to get in here.”

“Gah!”

“Exactly.” Even Levi didn’t seem happy about that idea.

Leaving his lover to finish his shower in peace, Eren dried off and finished getting ready on his own, and even was nice enough to pick up their dirty clothes. As soon as he was dressed in a clean sweater and a pair of jeans, he came out of the bedroom to find Mikasa waiting in the hallway. “Ah, everything okay?” It was becoming a habit of her waiting for him like this when something bad had happened.

“Yes. I thought I’d check with you.” She touched the scarf around her neck as she walked beside him. “How are you feeling?”

“Uhm, all right.” He tucked back his hair and shrugged. “I mean, I guess it would have been better if that one guy didn’t get away.”

Mikasa nodded. “Yes, I know.”

They headed down the stairs, where it looked as if everyone else was gathered; Eren picked up a sense of expectation, of relief and of happiness, which was largely from Isabel and Farlan – especially once Levi joined them. He hesitated to go over to his lover since he wanted to give him some more time alone with his sister and friend, but Levi caught sight of him standing with Mikasa and motioned to him.

Uncertain if he was interrupting anything, Eren went over to join the trio and gave them a nervous smile. Isabel appeared puzzled for a couple of seconds, and then returned the expression. “You two are really cute together. Who would have thought that Brother would have found- what?” she snapped at the man when Farlan tugged at her arm

“Hon, maybe your brother and his boyfriend don’t want to hear about how ‘cute’ they are, especially after they just helped take out somebody.”

“What? It’s not weird to talk about Brother’s love life, is it?” Isabel scowled at her husband before turning to Levi. “Right?”

Levi rubbed at his face before he cast a look over at Annie. “Maybe we can start another fight.”

Eren nodded as he did his best to hide behind his lover. “Uhm, yeah, or maybe it’s time for another practice session?” As much as he hated the ‘kick Eren’s ass’ sessions, he’d be grateful if one of them got him away from Isabel’s… ah, enthusiastic attention; meanwhile Farlan laughed and Isabel pouted.

“I’m just taking an interest in your life,” she explained to an anxious Levi. “We have so much to catch up on, some really big things. I mean, you have a boyfriend! And a cousin! We can have a real family reunion now!”

Eren winced at that thought, especially when he felt the wave of disbelief and horror from his lover. “Uhm…” He stared at Farlan in hopes that the water mage could do something about his wife.

The sound of Erwin clearing his throat cut through Eren’s building panic, and the four of them turned around to find Erwin standing by the fireplace, a serious expression on his face and his hands clasped behind his back. Eren noticed that everyone was gathered in the living room, and once Erwin saw that he had their attention, he nodded once.

“My apologies for interrupting, but I thought it was time that we discussed a few things. We managed a victory of sorts earlier, but it wasn’t complete.” Erwin nodded to Hange for a moment before he folded his arms over his broad chest. “We need to start planning our next moves.” He stepped aside so he could look at Annie. “Especially since there’s now a loose thread we have to handle.”

The other shifter flushed as if embarrassed at the scrutiny. “As I said, knowing Bert, he’ll most likely head back home.”

“You still don’t think that he’ll attempt to regroup and attack again?” Erwin didn’t sound as if he doubted Annie, just that he wanted to be certain.

She shook her head as she shoved her hands in the pockets of the pink cardigan she’d borrowed from Petra. “Not with Reiner dead, they were… close. No, Bert will want to go home even if it means being seen as a failure.” She paused for a moment, her expression bleak. “He won’t be as strong, not without Reiner and me. I honestly believe that you’ll have some time until Eren’s uncle figures out who’s best to send out in our places.”

Beside Eren, Levi shuffled about from foot to foot a couple of times as apprehension flared over their link. “A little bit of time, but that doesn’t mean a complete reprieve.” He clicked his tongue as he nodded to Erwin. “This is going to drag out.”

“Yes, so I’m not sure hiding in one spot is in our best interest anymore.” Erwin’s gaze lingered on Eren for a few seconds before he focused on Levi. “We have the means to strike back at them, though I wish they weren’t forewarned about the potions.”

“As long as Eren or Annie can supply us with the main ingredient, we can rob them of their anti-magic ward and keep them from sneaking in past our defense wards,” Armin pointed out. “It’s still to our benefit, and I’m not sure they know about the second potion, just the first.”

“Agreed, but hiding in one spot will just mean that they’ll do whatever they can to track Eren down, which they’ve proved to be very adept at doing.” Erwin held up his phone as an example. “Also, I’m loathe to lose the advantage we have of possessing two shifters in our organization.”

Eren had a feeling he knew where Erwin was going with this, considering it was what he’d done for the last thirteen years. “You want Annie and me to lay a false trail.” He felt Levi’s agreement and wondered if his lover had thought up the same thing.

“Wait, Annie hasn’t agreed to *anything*,” Armin insisted, only for her to pat him on the arm.

“No, it’s a good idea,” she agreed. “If there are two ‘Eren’s’ out there, it’ll muddle things up not only for the other shifters sent out to find him but for the magic organizations, too.” She paused for a moment and nodded. “It’ll probably help me out, too.”

“Figures you’ll be all for it, then,” Hange muttered.

While Armin glared at the blood witch, Mikasa shook her head. “But isn’t Reiss after Levi because of him taking in Eren? Won’t they be suspicious if an ‘Eren’ shows up without Levi?”

Erwin smiled at her, and something in his expression made Levi go stiff, his emotions suspicious. “Maybe, but Eren’s also known to associate with you and Armin. I think they won’t be able to risk leaving either lead unchecked.”

Mikasa’s eyes flashed silver. “Wait, you want one of us to go with Eren and the other to go with Annie?”

“Eren will be going with me,” Levi insisted, his tone absolute as he held onto Eren’s left wrist. “Last I checked, he hasn’t bonded with either you or Armin.”

“That’s ridiculous! Eren’s family!” Mikasa took a step toward Levi with her hands held out to her side as if to cast out her threads. “Eren, tell him!”

Great, now he was dragged into this mess. Feeling a sharp pain in his chest, Eren shook his head as he stepped forward, his right hand held out toward Mikasa and his left reaching back for his lover. “Mikasa… I can’t….” He struggled for the words as he glanced at Annie, at the blank expression on her face even as she sidled toward Armin, as he noticed the way that Armin twisted toward the young woman as if to protect her. Despite all of the emotions that battered him at the moment, Eren could feel the anxiety that his friend and the other shifter felt at the moment, anxiety he guessed was in part at the thought of being separated; he wasn’t sure what was going on between them, but he’d recognized the trust forming between the two. Trust that definitely wasn’t there between Annie and Levi, while the thought of moving on without his lover- He clutched at his chest with his right hand and shook his head while he turned toward Erwin. “Do we really have to split up?”

The mage nodded, but there was a hint of understanding in his expression. “I’m afraid so, since all trying to hide you so far has ended up in failure. But I’m not saying to run forever, just to not stay in one spot for too long. You can still see your family and friends from time to time, when it’s safe.”

“Damn right!” Isabel insisted. “I didn’t get to see Levi again after so many years for you to send him off again!”

Then it wouldn’t be too bad. Eren attempted to smile as he looked back at Mikasa. “I’m sorry, but… there’s something here.” He twisted his left wrist about to grab at Levi’s hand and held it up. “I don’t think it’s possible to leave him.” As he spoke, Levi pressed against his back.

“Mikasa, you know about their bond. Don’t do this to him,” Armin urged.

Tears shimmered in his sister’s eyes as she stared back at him – no, at Levi. “Remember what I said – you have to take care of him,” she finally demanded after a few seconds.

“I will.” Levi’s arms wrapped around Eren. “I’m not using him.” His emotions were so sharp that Eren gasped at their intensity, at the possessiveness and… and….

“I want to see him as much as possible,” Mikasa insisted to Erwin. “Every month! You’ll swear that to me!”

“Yeah!” Isabel echoed his sister as well, her hands on her hip. “Me too!”

Erwin frowned at the two of them. “Every other month will probably be more realistic.” When both women took to glaring, he sighed and held up his hands. “Every other month at the least.” Then it was his turn to glare, at Levi. “You’ll get a damn phone now! None of this being out of reach!”

“Yeah, yeah, just don’t use it as an excuse to overload me with missions,” Levi grumbled as he continued to hold on to Eren. “Gonna be busy enough as is keeping this one out of trouble.”

“Aw, just think of how many people you get to kill in the name of love,” Hange cooed as she sidled closer to them. “So romantic.”

“You’re fucking insane,” Levi muttered as he made a kicking motion toward her.

Meanwhile, Isabel appeared very happy about something. “Ooh, me too, me too!” As Eren and Levi stared in confusion at her, she waved her hands at Erwin while Farlan sighed. “We get to work now, too!” When Levi clicked his tongue in disapproval, she frowned. “No! We spent how many years learning to use our magic and being in the middle of nowhere, now we get to work!” She glared at Eren’s lover while Levi’s emotions took on a disgruntled turn.

“This isn’t a game, Izzy!”

“Neither is fighting off shifters,” Farlan pointed out as he hugged his wife from behind. “Yet we managed. Come on, Levi, have some faith in us.”

Eren could feel his lover’s resolve begin to weaken, and then Erwin cleared his throat again. “They managed rather well for themselves, and it’s likely they’ll just be targeted again if we try to hide them.”

“Oh fuck you, EB,” Levi snapped. “Fine, if they want to be suicidal bastards, sign them up.” Levi’s emotions were sullen for a couple of seconds, until Isabel came over to give them both a hug. “Just be careful, you morons,” he urged.

“We will.” Isabel’s smile changed into a serious expression as she looked up at her brother. “You gave me a chance to learn what I could do with my magic, Brother, now let me show you how much I’ve grown over the years.”

Levi clicked his tongue again as he reached out with his right hand to tousle her hair. “They won’t know what hit them.”

“Exactly!” She smiled as she went back to Farlan’s side.

Erwin seemed to wait for Isabel to quiet down before he spoke again. “Armin, if you could make up another batch of both potions before you leave, it would be helpful.” He waited for Armin’s agreement before he resumed speaking. “It would probably be best to split up tomorrow morning.”

There were a lot of unhappy expressions at the declaration, and enough strong emotions to make Eren’s head ache despite the mental wards. “Eh, why so soon?”

“There’s no reason to chance that someone won’t be sent out immediately,” Erwin explained to Isabel’s question. “Not that I’m doubting Annie’s estimate, but I’d rather not be taken by surprise.”

Eren felt a fresh wave of pain at the thought of leaving his sister and friend so soon. “Do we really have to do this?”

Erwin gave him a sympathetic look. “You don’t have to do anything, but I believe it would be for the best.” When Eren didn’t say anything else, Erwin continued. “Hange, I’d like for you to work with Shadis and Petra to see what you can uncover about the shifters and their excursions ‘out here’, based on Shadis’ research and what Annie’s told us.”

Hange appeared surprised by that. “Eh? Yeah, sure, I love a good research project.” She grinned as she rubbed her hands together, while the other two mages gave her nervous or weary smiles. “It’ll be fun!”

Meanwhile, Erwin turned to Annie once more. “If you could spare some more time tonight talking to them, I’d appreciate it.”

Annie shrugged as she wiped her palms against her thighs as if to deny the apprehension she felt. “I don’t know too much about the whole thing, other than some people get picked to have kids and some don’t, but I’ll tell them what I know.”

“Any information would be appreciated.” Erwin sighed, and for the first time since calling for the ‘discussion’, a hint of exhaustion shaded his handsome appearance. “There’s so much we need to know, and all the answers we have only lead to more questions. Unfortunately, I believe we’re running out of time and it would be best to move on.”

Hange went over to Erwin’s side as if to lend him some support. “Yeah, but look at it this way, Reiss has lost a few of their heavy hitters during this whole mess, and are likely to lose more when Eren’s uncle sends out the next batch of shifters. Depending on where Eren and Annie go, whether into Reeves or Fritz territory, we can weaken other organizations as well.”

There was a hint of a smile as well as a spark to Erwin’s blue eyes as he fussed with the cuffs to his striped blue and white button down shirt. “Oh believe me, after seeing the damage that Annie and her associates have done to our organization, I am already thinking ahead in that regard. We’ll be better prepared this time, and direct the damage to where it’ll be the most beneficial to us.”

Eren twisted about to look up at his lover when he picked up a sense of smugness from Levi, and found him actually smiling at Mikasa. “Not quite ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend, but close enough, eh?”

She surprised Eren when she smiled back and gave Levi a slight nod. “I think we can manage it.” The smile faded as a spark of silver entered her eyes. “Be certain to get phones for both of you, and to keep them secure. If we can’t see each other every day, I want to be able to talk to Eren at least.”

“It would be good to set up email accounts, too,” Armin added.

Erwin pinched the bridge of his nose as he glanced back and forth between them, especially when Isabel cheered at the suggestions. “Please… no public postings, if I see a Facebook account with pictures I will hunt you down myself and burn you to ash.”

“We can set up something secure,” Farlan assured him.

Erwin heaved a long-suffering sigh as he pulled out his phone while he headed for the kitchen. “Whatever. Now Thomas and Lynne should be here soon, and we’ll need their help to get everything ready for tomorrow. Hange and Shadis, let’s discuss some possible new safe houses.” His voice faded away as the two older mages hurried after him.

That left the rest of them alone in the large room; Petra went over to the fireplace to add a few more longs. “Levi, if you’ve need of me, please don’t hesitate to call.”

Eren’s lover nodded. “Just don’t let Hange drive you too crazy, okay? Or make you do all of the errands for her.”

Petra grinned as she dusted off her hands. “No, I should be all right on that front.” There was a flash of sadness as she tucked back the strands of hair falling onto her face. “It’ll be odd, not being part of… well, the change will be good.” She took a deep breath as if forcing a shift in emotions. “I didn’t realize it until coming here, but I needed to get away from Karanese, and research will be fun. I’ll help out for a while and then ask Erwin to assign me a new partner.” Resolve shown in the set of her delicate jaw and amber eyes as she looked at Levi.

Eren could feel his lover’s respect and affection for the air mage. “Sounds like a good plan. Just let me know if you need my help in burying Hange’s body if she gets to be too much.”

“I will, sir,” Petra told him as she laughed.

“I guess we’ll have to see where Erwin wants to assign us.” Farlan let go of Isabel so they could step closer to Eren and Levi. “A city would be nice.”

“Yes! I’m tired of living in the country.” Isabel bounced on her toes for a couple of times. “Plus it’ll make it easier to see you, Brother.”

Levi sighed as he let go of Eren and ran his right hand through his hair. “The bastard has something in mind, but yeah, it’ll probably be some city.” He frowned at Eren for a couple of seconds. “You okay with everything?”

Eren shrugged as he glanced between his lover and his sister. “It makes sense, and I’m used to running.” He reached out to touch Levi’s chest. “This doesn’t sound too bad, though, knowing I have help, that I can see Mikasa and Armin.” Knowing that Levi would be with him. He didn’t say that last part, but his lover’s lips twisted into an almost smile as he reached out to give Eren’s forehead a gentle flick.

“No doing stupid shit like taking on a pack of were, or losing your clothes, or… no stupid shit. You’re going to listen to me, you hear?”

Eren whined as he rubbed his forehead. “Mean slave driver.”

“Mean slave driver who’ll keep your ass in one piece. I’m the ‘great’ Levi, after all.” His expression took on a hint of smugness when Eren whined again.

Meanwhile, Armin stifled a laugh. “I’ll whip up some more special bags tonight, since I’m sure Levi will keep you from losing them this time.” His smile faded as he looked back and forth between Eren, Mikasa and Annie. “Ah, it’s not going to be the same, going on without you.”

Going still for a moment, Eren clenched his fingers against Levi’s sweater before he turned and went over to his friend and sister. “Yeah, I know.” He gave Mikasa a reassuring hug, then followed it up with one to Armin. “But we *will* see each other, even if we have to all take geas or something.”

“Oooh, that’s a good idea,” Isabel said.

Mikasa smiled as she fussed with her scarf. “If I don’t get Erwin to swear to it tonight, we’ll do it in the morning.”

While Levi groaned something about overprotective brats, Eren went over to Annie, who had been quiet the last few minutes. He was still somewhat ambivalent to the other shifter, grateful that she had helped out yet aware of how much pain she had caused. Still, he gave her a slight smile when she looked up at him, her emotions nervous yet hopeful. “Watch out for them, okay?”

Her blue eyes widened and she tugged on the cuffs of the pink sweater in obvious nervousness. “Yeah, I will.” Her expression was still a little cool when she glanced at Mikasa, but it softened when she saw Armin. “I promise, I won’t mess this up.”

Oddly enough, he believed her; he didn’t sense any falseness from her. “Thanks.”

Before he could go back to Levi, Armin grabbed him by the shoulders. “Come on, I need more stuff from the both of you so I can create a large batch of potions tonight!” His friend sounded much too cheerful at the moment.

Eren groaned as Armin dragged him toward the kitchen. “Really? Do you have-“

“It’ll be the last time in a while you have to do this,” Mikasa assured him. “Just let him have his way.”

All of a sudden Eren was reminded of the benefit of being on the run without his best friend. The upcoming morning was looking a lot better….

*******

Bertolt struggled with the pain, rage and sorrow inside of him as he flew home, almost numb from the intense emotions. Just a while longer and he’d be safe, would be back with his family and- what would he tell Reiner’s family? What would he tell Eren’s uncle? Those thoughts kept circling around in his head, as did the thought of Reiner sacrificing himself, of-

One minute he was in the air, the next he was tumbling toward the ground, breathless from the impact as something solid knocked into him and made him drop the bundle he was carrying, something heavy and with limbs that latched on to him. He screeched in fear and rage as he attempted to shift into something with hands to punch back – and shrieked when there was a painful sting and he found himself shifting back into his human form as he hit the ground.

There was pain, so much pain, enough to make him cry as he huddled on the bare ground, and it took him a few seconds to realize that there was another person standing not too far away. As he curled in on himself and looked up, he gasped in shock when he recognized the man.

The last images he’d seen of the other shifter had been a few decades out of date, so Grisha Jaeger’s hair lacked the touches of grey and he now sported a goatee, but he still appeared trim and his grey eyes sharp as he regarded Bertolt with apparent disdain. In his right hand he held what appeared to be an empty syringe, which he raised up.

“You know, I learned a lot of things out here, and one of them was how to affect the shifter physiology,” Grisha explained. “Took a lot of trial and error, with myself as the test subject.” He grimaced as he lowered his hand. “Came in handy, though, when my brother sent out his dogs to track me and my family down.”

“Wha-what?” Bertolt stuttered out. “What are you-“

Grisha lashed out with his left hand, the blow sending blinding pain through Bertolt’s jaw. “You’re not the first one he sent out, and you won’t be the last.” As Bertolt lay sprawled out on the ground gasping on pain, Grisha knelt down near him. “I’m sorry for this, but I can’t let you go back to him, can’t let you report on what’s happening out here.” His fingers brushed along Bertolt’s hair in an almost tender manner as Bertolt groaned. “I won’t allow that threat to Eren.”

“Puh-please!” Bertolt tried to make his body move, to make it shift, but nothing happened. He couldn’t even turn his head to look back at Grisha, to see what the other shifter was doing. “I, I won’t, I-“

There was a flare of magic, and before he could argue some more, to plead that he wouldn’t hurt Eren, there was a bit of pressure on the back of his neck and then darkness.

*******

Levi sighed at the hug-fest going on and reached out to tug on an unruly strand of his lover’s hair. “Ten minutes, and then you better get your ass outside,” he told Eren.

“M’kay,” the brat sniffed as he hugged Mikasa and Armin at the same time, while Mikasa looked up from the top of Eren’s head to glare at Levi.

“I’m serious, we need to be off this damn mountain before dark.” He wasn’t trying to be an asshole, though yeah, it would be nice to finally get Eren away from his clingy sister.

“Uh-huh.”

Levi rolled his eyes as he walked away, and figured he’d send a spirit after his lover when the time was up if necessary. He’d already said his goodbyes to everybody, and Farlan was keeping Isabel distracted so there wasn’t any more crying or whining about how he was leaving already; he promised that they’d meet up in another month.

Heading out to the borrowed SUV to make sure that nothing had been forgotten when they’d packed it earlier, Levi was surprised to hear Gunther’s borrowed phone ring; he pulled it out and stared at it for a moment since the number was unknown, but decided to answer it in case it was someone from the group calling on a burner phone. “Yeah, who is this?” They better talk fast before he ended the call.

“Levi Ackerman, correct?”

Levi stopped and leaned against the railing of the porch as he tried to place the voice – it was deep and sounded weary. “Who wants to know?” He was about to send a spirit to summon Erwin when the asshole on the other end gave him an answer.

“A concerned father. How’s Eren?”

“Fath- wait, are you *Grisha*?” He nearly dropped the phone in surprise.

“Ah, perhaps you’re as sharp as they say. Please, don’t alert anyone, I want to speak to you alone.”

He paused for a moment, his magic half-summoned, and frowned as he stared off into the woods. “Why? Why the fuck are you calling me and how did you get this number?”

“I’m calling you because you’re involved with my son, and you really should do something with those phones.” There was an exhausted sounding sigh on the other end of the line. “I found the information on Bertolt when I came across him last night.”

“Wait, what?” Levi was beginning to get a headache from all of these revelations. “I’ll get a new phone as soon as we find someplace that sells them, now what the hell is that about the other shifter?” Yeah, he was beginning to see where Eren got his scatterbrain from, all right.

There was another sigh, one that dragged on for a couple of seconds. “You may be interested in knowing that Bertolt was stopped from returning home with the information about your safe house, phones, potions and Annie’s defection.” There was something off with the man’s bland tone toward the end there, as if he was too calm about the whole thing – never mind how the hell he knew so fucking much.

“Let me guess, you had a hand in that, right?” Levi hitched his left hip up onto the railing since this looked like it might take a while.

“Yes, I did. It wasn’t much, but it should buy you a day or two before my brother figures out that none of them will be returning, especially with Eren. And the less he knows about those new potions, the better.”

Levi clicked his tongue even as he agreed with Grisha. “Seems funny, you helping out now when you’ve been absent how many years.”

There was a few seconds of silence before Grisha spoke again. “Things aren’t always as they seem, Mr. Ackerman. That’s something I’m hoping very much is the case with you, considering your bond with my son.”

Levi scowled at the implied threat. “You sure know an awful lot for an absentee father.”

“As I said, things aren’t always as they seem.”

Smart-ass. Levi glanced behind him, back at the lodge. “If you’re so worried about Eren, why did you abandon – oh, sorry, *seem* to abandon him?”

This time the sigh sounded more heartfelt than weary. “Eren… he’s so much like Karla.” As much as Levi was beginning to think of Grisha as an asshole, he had to acknowledge the pain in the man’s voice just then. “And Karla, there was something about her, an amazing innocence, a way of seeing things which I felt came from her unique place in our world, from belonging to it yet being separate from it. I had hoped… I thought Eren would take after her if he didn’t know too much, if he could be kept innocent from his true nature as long as possible.”

What a load of bullshit. “You put your son in a lot of danger with that theory.”

“He had Mikasa and Armin, and I was closer than he suspected,” Grisha argued. “It seems he found what he needed when the time was right, didn’t he?”

Levi clicked his tongue and wished the smug asshole was in front of him right then, so he could punch him. “Hell of a gamble.”

“It was a necessary one.” Grisha paused again. “There’s also a part of Eren that’s a lot like his uncle, something wild and willing to do whatever is necessary for what he feels is right. It’s not as calculating, as manipulative as my brother, but it’s still dangerous. Be careful, Ackerman. You have in your hands something I don’t think you truly understand as of yet, but from everything I can tell, Eren has settled on you. Don’t let him down.”

“Or?” Levi drawled as he called a spirit to him.

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about me,” Grisha answered, once more sounding exhausted. “I’ll be the last of your concerns. Just know that my brother won’t give up on Eren without one hell of a fight… and that you’re not the first Ackerman I’ve dealt with in these past years.”

Levi felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold when he heard that part of the warning. “What do you mean?”

“Reiss has been using your uncle to chase down shifters. I’ve done what I can to keep him from Eren, but I imagine he’ll be determined when he finds out about the two of you.”

“Shit.”

“Exactly.” Grisha chuckled a few times. “Don’t tell Eren I called, I don’t want him harrying off into the shadows looking for me. It’s better… it’s better that he thinks I’m gone.” The sadness and pain from before, when Grisha had talked about Karla, had returned.

As much as he hated to admit it, Levi felt a bit sorry for the man; had Grisha spent the past thirteen years or so trailing after Eren, doing what he could to keep his son safe while deliberately making Eren believe he’d been abandoned? “You should tell him the truth.”

“Remember what I said about him taking after his uncle – I can’t chance him deciding to find me when he should be focused on protecting himself,” Grisha snapped. “He’s safer that way.”

“Fine.” Levi didn’t like it, keeping such a secret, but he had to admit that his lover could be a stubborn idiot at times. Didn’t mean he couldn’t tell the others, such as Erwin and Mikasa. “Don’t make me regret this.”

“And don’t make me regret allowing my son to go off with an Ackerman,” Grisha shot back. “Be sure to destroy this phone, I’m doing the same with mine.” He hung up before Levi could call him a bastard for that ‘Ackerman’ comment.

Still staring at the phone as if he could send a damn poltergeist through it to fuck up Grisha, Levi started when he heard the front door open. “Eh, is something wrong?”

He turned around to find Eren staring at him in confusion. “No, just hoping we come across a store soon so I can get rid of the damn thing. If I didn’t need something until I get my own, I’d trash it right now,” he explained as he tucked it into the breast pocket of his coat.

“Okay.” Eren finished zipping up his coat as he shuffled forward. “So, uhm, I’m all done now. Saying goodbye, that is.”

Levi reached for his lover and pulled him close. “If you really want to-“

“No.” Eren shook his head. “It’ll be better this time, we’ve the bags Armin made for us and we’ll get the phones and the tablets. We’ll stay in touch.” There was a stubborn jut to his jaw as he looked up at Levi. “We’re planning things.”

“Damn right we are, none of this running the fuck all over the place and letting you get chased by were and shit,” Levi agreed. “Armin and Erwin will figure it out, you’ll see.”

“Yeah.” Eren’s eyes lowered for a few seconds and then he smiled, the expression a little sad. “Guess I shouldn’t have complained about going stir-crazy, should I?”

Levi gave him a quick squeeze before letting go. “Think you shot yourself in the foot there, brat. But it shouldn’t be too bad, just a few weeks running around to lay a false trail while Erwin finds us a new place we can hide in from time to time.” It wouldn’t be the same as before, when he’d all but shut himself off from the world except for the rare excursions out to see Hange or when on missions, not when so many people would be searching for them. Best to muddy the trail now and then, which would mean a lot of moving around… but it also meant he’d have Eren, and could see Isabel and Farlan from time to time. “Come on, we’re wasting daylight.”

“So much faster to just fly,” Eren whined as he hooked his left arm through Levi’s right and followed him off of the porch.

“Pardon me for not being able to grow a pair of wings out of my ass.” Levi rolled his eyes at Eren’s sulk, then shoved him toward the passenger side of the SUV. “Don’t even think you’re going to drive. Do you even know how to drive?”

“Ah, Mikasa showed me how-“

“That’s a huge fucking ‘no’.” Bratty shifters with their wings and flying and trying to get them killed, Levi thought as he opened the door and crammed his lover up onto the seat. Levi shook his head as he went around the vehicle, and noticed that Mikasa and Armin were standing on the porch, while Isabel looked out of one of the upper windows. He paused to wave to his sister then nodded to Mikasa; he had promised to watch over Eren, to protect him, and he would keep that promise. Later on, when he had a secure phone, he’d let Mikasa know that her foster father was a lot closer than she suspected.

But for right now, he had a full tank of gas, a wad of cash and a sniffling lover next to him. “You gonna cry the whole damn drive?”

“I’m not crying,” Eren insisted as he waved one last time and then turned around to face Levi, his magic flaring as he wiped at his wet eyes.

“Yeah, I can see that.” Levi clicked his tongue as he motioned at the glove compartment. “Get a damn tissue or something and clean your face.”

“So mean,” Eren whined, and the familiar lament made Levi smile.

“I know, how are you going to put up with me?”

About to blow his nose with a just-fetched napkin, Eren paused and smiled, the emotion genuine as his eyes sparkled and his magic settled. “It’s going to be interesting, isn’t it?”

Levi scoffed as he turned onto the dirt road leading down the mountain. “Best fucking time of your life.”

“Hmm.” Eren wiped at his nose before he crumpled up the napkin and shoved it into his pocket. “Probably.” He was still smiling as he kicked off his boots and curled his legs up beneath him in the large bucket seat.

“No probably to it.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Eren leaned toward Levi as much as he could in his seat. “Whatever you say.”

“Damn right.” Levi found himself smiling as he reached over to ruffle his lover’s hair. “If you’re tired, you can get some sleep.”

“No, just… it’s nice, the quiet.” Eren tilted his head toward Levi’s hand. “I know I’ll miss the others, but it was nice, when it was just the two of us back at your place. This feels good.”

“Yeah.” Still smiling, Levi gave Eren’s hair one more tousle before he resumed driving with both hands on the wheel, content with the quiet and the thrumming, peaceful sense of magic that filled the car. “Blowjob and a massage later on that things will be fucked up within three hours.”

Eren laughed as he fiddled with the SUV’s heat. “It’ll take us that long to at least get off the mountain. I say four hours.”

“Deal.” Levi figured that was one bet he wouldn’t mind losing and batted Eren’s hands away from the controls once hot air started blasting him in the face. “Stop it, grow some damn fur if you’re still cold.”

“Why do you have to be so mean?”

“Because it turns you on and you know it.”

Eren folded his arms over his chest and began to pout. “Oh sure, don’t let me drive because of a lack of skill but let a delusional person behind the wheel.”

Levi didn’t need to look away from the road to reach over and flick the idiot in the ear by now, it could be done automatically. “Maybe you should go to sleep and save us both the headaches.”

“You’re mean.”

“You said that already.”

“Gah!” Eren threw up both of his hands in the air. “Maybe I should have stayed with Mikasa and Armin.”

Levi scoffed and shook his head. “That’s not true.”

Eren continued to sulk for all of ten seconds. “No, it isn’t,” he sighed. “But you’re still mean.”

“Yeah.” He glanced over to find Eren smiling… and reaching for the heat button. “Mean enough to smack your damn fingers,” he warned, then laughed as his lover took to glaring; it was indeed going to be an interesting drive.

*******

Not only was cold as fuck out, but it was crowded as well and Levi was desperate for a whole damn pot of tea somewhere quiet. Now to do something about the shit-ton of mages trailing after him and the brat.

He huddled inside his heavy wool coat, grateful for the energy that Eren had given him earlier before they had split up in an effort to throw off the Reeves mages who had managed to track them down; considering that they’d been here in the city for several days, it wasn’t that much of a surprise that the assholes had caught up to them, and it would be better to take care of the problem now before moving on to Quinta. That and wouldn’t it make a certain evil bastard so happy, to have some of Reeves’ heavy hitters taken out? Enough that Erwin better not bitch about the next hotel bill, dammit.

Levi had just slipped down a less populated street when he picked up a stronger pulse of magic, probably a tracker spell of some sort. He kept a ward of spirits around himself even if it freaked out any ‘sensitive’ normals near him, giving him a bit of space while people complained about the cold and a few would go home talking about the ‘bad’ feelings they had while out and about. Yeah, count themselves damn lucky that ‘bad’ feelings were all they had, considering that he could use a spirit trailing several feet behind him to catch a glimpse of some asshole in an expensive dark coat; last thing a normal wanted was to get caught up in some magic fight and end up with their memory wiped at best or dead from ‘heart failure’ at worst.

Still, at least Levi knew that the assholes would give him some time until he was a bit further away from everyone… too bad the same wasn’t true for him. Normally the asshole in the expensive enough coat to make Erwin jealous would be just out of reach, but Eren had taken out two mages before they had separated and passed on the energy to him, energy which allowed him to stretch his range just enough to ‘reach’ out and curse the mage’s brain to start rotting. There was a wild flare of magic at first as the dark-haired man attempted to counteract it, and then he stumbled a few steps before falling to the concrete, body twitching while people cried out in confusion. Levi barely got half a block farther along when he felt the rush of energy from the mage’s death, followed by several flares of magic when the mage’s associates realized what had happened.

Yeah, that was one way to stir up shit, wasn’t it? He allowed himself a slight smile at the confusion left in his wake, and noticed a dark alley up ahead; perfect. The spirit behind him indicated that three more mages were now trailing after him, all in damn expensive coats as if they were some sort of uniform. A fourth mage, a blonde woman with a blue scarf wrapped around her neck, hurried to catch up with the others.

Levi stopped in the alley with several spirits around him and waited for the mages to arrive; they came with wards up and pissed off expressions. “Tell us where the shifter is and we’ll make this quick,” the one on the left, some tall shithead with spiky pale hair and a goatee, ordered as he held up a ball of fire.

Levi waited a few more seconds, for the last of the black coat brigade to arrive and then he smiled. “A lot closer than you think.”

“Very funny.” The mage on the right, a heavy-set man with long, reddish hair pulled back in a stupid ponytail, moved aside to let the woman stand with the rest of them – and made a gurgling sound when she reached out with a crystal covered hand to touch the back of his neck. Moments later he fell to the ground, bloody foam pouring from his mouth and another rush of energy for Levi to savor.

“Enrico? What the hell?” Punky and his companion, a woman with short brown hair, spun around in shock, their wards fluctuating from strong emotions, while the blonde ‘mage’ smiled at them, her mouth filled with sharp, jagged teeth and her eyes a burning gold; that was all the opening Levi needed to rip their souls from their bodies. Punky died immediately from the shock, while the woman – an earth mage – collapsed to the ground, her body now an empty shell that would slowly wither away. Levi took the time to shred the souls just in case there was another necromancer around and could put the one back, then went over to the ‘blonde’.

“Finally got that spell of Hange’s down, I see.” He toed the third dead mage once before looking at Eren, who had finally shifted back to his own shape.

Eren shrugged as he loosened the scarf a little. “Figured there’d be less questions if he died of… well, okay, they’re going to freak when they cut him open, aren’t they?”

“I’m sure Reeves has the coroner in their pocket, but yeah, it’ll look better while they’re carting these guys away than if you’d burned his ass or tore out his throat, like you did back in Klorva or Ehrmich.” Levi clicked his tongue as he pushed his lover out of the alley once he’d checked that no one was around to notice them leave it.

“I don’t like it when they startle us in bed like that,” Eren complained as he nestled up against Levi’s side, a warm presence that helped to push back the cold. “Or when we’re trying to eat.”

Yeah, someone was a bit grumpy when he was hungry or woken up unexpectedly, Levi had learned. “Come on, let’s fetch our stuff, get something warm to drink and head on to the next town.” It was obvious that they’d spent a bit too long in this one.

“Good thing we finished the laundry earlier this morning.” Eren sighed as he tugged the scarf from his neck and let it fall to the ground. “Ugh, she wore way too much perfume.” Yet he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get rid of the fancy black coat even as he shifted a little, just enough to lengthen his hair and obscure his features until he appeared a bit more androgynous; Levi didn’t sense any more strange magic but best to not take too many chances.

He eyed his lover as they slipped back into the crowd. “You keeping that?” He flicked the cowl-like collar of the coat.

Eren shrugged, a slight blush spreading across his cheeks as he stared straight ahead. “Well, it’s nice and warm, seems a shame to get rid of it.” His voice was a bit higher pitched, to go along with his new form.

Levi clicked his tongue as he flicked the brat in the left ear. “You ripped your other one when you took her out, didn’t you?”

“Ow! Maybe,” Eren whined as he rubbed at his ear. “So mean.”

Well, it was good that the coat was expensive as fuck and didn’t look too girly, and would do until Eren took out another short mage with a bit more masculine taste – that or until the weather warmed up. “Just tell me you didn’t lose our shit.”

“No, I made sure to stash it somewhere safe.” Eren rolled his eyes, which he’d darkened to a deep blue; funny how no matter what shape he used, his mannerisms were still the same, he was still *Eren* to Levi. “No way was I going through the same hell you put me through the one time you thought I’d lost the car keys.”

“Keys to a vehicle we may need in a hurry,” Levi reminded him as he jerked him out of the way of some asshole in a hurry too busy typing on their phone to pay attention to their surroundings – an asshole who was tripped by a spirit a few seconds later. “Be happy you found them.”

He knew well by now that sulk on his lover’s face – whichever face Eren was wearing – and grit his teeth in anticipation of the stupidity to come. “Yeah, well, we can always just hotwire a car or something.”

“We’re out in public,” Levi warned as a teenager walking past turned to stare at them, her eyes wide in surprise.

Eren just waved his gloved right hand around a few times. “Whatever. Let’s head back to the church where I stashed the stuff and then get you your tea. You’re getting all moomphy which is never good.”

Moomphy. Levi ran his gloved hands over his hair and then clapped them over the back of his neck for a couple of seconds as he summoned up some patience. “Brat… what did I tell you about making up words?”

Eren’s steps faltered for a moment and then he looked up at Levi, his eyes flashing gold in the growing twilight. “Aw come on, it’s true!” Once more his hands fluttered about in the air like panicked birds. “You’re ticked off and tired yet not tired and… and *moomphy*.” His sulk turned into a full pout, his magic wrapping around Levi as Levi came to a halt and pulled him in to what probably looked to the people stepping around them like a gentle embrace. “You know it.”

“I know that because you broke our agreement, not only do you have to read ten pages of the thesaurus tonight, but you have to do whatever I want for an hour.” Levi grinned as he thought of the fun which lay ahead whenever they reached the new hotel.

Eren’s eyes flashed again. “I’m thinking of a few choice words right now.”

“Any of them going to add to how long you’ll be giving me a massage, among other things?” Levi tucked back the hair falling onto his lover’s face and leaned in for a quick kiss, a chuckle escaping him when Eren nipped at his lip.

“Not this time.” Yet Eren was smiling when he pulled away, and quick to tug Levi in the direction of a quiet church Levi remembered passing while he had led the mages away from Eren. “Just wait until it’s your turn to mess up.”

“The ‘great’ Levi doesn’t mess up.”

“Right, so we won’t get kicked out of a hotel room anytime soon, right?” At least Eren seemed able to laugh about it now; the truth was, Eren was more used to dealing with normals than Levi, and being on the run since Levi had been mostly cooped up in his house the last several decades.

But it was the two of them now, and loud hotel neighbors or annoying mages aside, things were going better than Levi had expected, out here with Eren. He bridged the bit of space between them and caught his lover’s gloved hand as they went to fetch their belongings.

*******

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is, for the most part, that.
> 
> But it's not the end of this storyline, just the wrapping up of the first part. I have plans for more of the Snk characters (oh, there is one couple in particular, well two I want to bring in, but definitely one I'm looking forward to having run across Eren and Levi). Until then, let me know in the comments if there's some small scenes you'd like to see, if it doesn't mess up the continuity plans I'll post them as fillers until I get the next part up. Which might be a little while, I really have to get back to Untraveled Road (yikes! so sorry for the wait those of you who have been reading that arc!) and one or two other side projects.
> 
> Again, thanks so much! I hope you've enjoyed the story so far and how this part wrapped up, and where the characters are at this point in the story.
> 
> Also, setting up a writing tumblr (malbecfox) since I tend to have a lot of stuff on my other one.


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